A
property fraudster has been jailed for selling her father and
step-mother's vacant £340,000 flat.
Valerie
Edwards, 52, of Lawson Close, Ilford, received three years
imprisonment.
She
pleaded guilty to fraud on the opening day of her Snaresbrook Crown
Court trial.
In
Spring last year Edwards concocted the audacious plan once she
discovered the property in Woolaston Road, Finsbury Park would be
vacant for a few months.
Her
step-mother had travelled to the Caribbean to look after a sick
relative, and placed her husband – Edwards's father - into a care
home while she was away.
In
May Edwards instructed an estate agent and arranged for the flat to
be offered directly to potential buyers, looking for a flat in the
area.
She
insisted the property should not be advertised for sale publicly.
A
buyer was found and a sale price of £340,000 agreed.
The
estate agent referred Edwards to a solicitor to provide the
conveyance on the purchase.
The
solicitor refused to facilitate the sale without permission from the
owners.
Edwards
explained that the owners were in hospital and unable to attend his
offices.
She
then provided the solicitor with numerous forms of identification,
including a Power Of Attorney and a signed letter stating that she
had permission to sell the flat.
On
Thursday, June 8 a neighbour noticed people removing the contents of
the flat.
When
approached, the removal men explained that the flat had been sold and
the new owner was having it cleared.
The
neighbour contacted the true owners and informed them of the activity
at the flat, also giving them the details of the person who had
unwittingly bought their property.
The
victim contacted the solicitor who had dealt with the sale explaining
that Edwards did not have any right to sell the property.
The
solicitor called Action Fraud and contacted the bank involved in the
transfer of funds.
The
bank was able to freeze £337,000 of the £340,000 selling price.
The
flat has since been returned to its rightful owners.
Detective
Constable Neil Wakeling, of the East Area Command Unit, said:
“Edwards
knew that the property her father and step-mother lived in was going
to be vacant for a period of time, and was unscrupulous in exploiting
the situation by gaining access and attempting to force through its
sale.
“Only
at the last minute when the sale of the property was about to be
finalised, and when a neighbour flagged their concerns and acted
quickly was the fraud discovered.
“The
custodial sentence handed down reflects the seriousness of the
offence.”
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