'Lifestyle' fraudster jailed for mortgage con

A 51-year-old woman who exploited a complex mortgage fraud scheme to fund a lifestyle of Bentleys and luxury holidays has been jailed.

Dawn Simon of Iwade has been jailed for seven years after a series of financial exploits finally ended in the arrest of the serial fraudster.

Simon encouraged her 29-year-old nephew Daniel Wade to pose as a mortgage applicant, in order to falsely obtain a £379,000 mortgage.

Simon then used the mortgage to purchase a large property in Kent, creating a bogus tenancy agreement, with Wade acting as the SPV.

Detectives found that Simon had been paying the mortgage payments for Wade on the property – despite not being in full-time employment.

At the same time, Simon was fraudulently claiming benefits, including child tax support, while living a cash-rich lifestyle.

The fraudster enjoyed a wealth of jewellery, holidays to Dubai, Las Vegas and New York as well as a number of luxury sports cars – including a £140,000 Bentley SS.

Furthermore, Simon was also found to have stolen over half a million pounds worth of jewellery from pickpocketing locals.

The Iwade-born woman targeted victims at cash machines, recording their pin numbers and following them home - then stealing their purses and draining their bank accounts.

Speaking on the decision, DC Stewart Walker, Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "Dawn Simon's lifestyle of expensive jewellery, holidays and expensive cars was funded entirely on the back of other people’s misery.

"Simon was a compulsive thief whose continued stealing of handbags and purses not only cost people the money they physically carried, but also their treasured items such as personal mementos and a vast number of family photos, as well treasured jewellery valued at up to £500,000.

"Her actions around spotting victims at cash points and following them shows a deep level of premeditated and ingrained criminality.

"Not only was she stealing from victim's handbags and purses, but she was also using the taxpayer to fund her six bedroom house with a pool - money she just wasn't entitled to."

DC Walker continued:: "Peter Harvey and Daniel Wade knew the full extent of the crimes being committed and enjoyed the windfalls that came with them, which included Harvey, a long term benefit recipient being able to spend over £40,000 on watches alone.

"The evidence was overwhelming and this should send a clear message that crime does not pay."

Police will now look to confiscate the assets of all suspects involved with the case.

Picture: Kent Online