Model, 31, ‘encouraged mum to pose as multi-millionaire to pull off £1.2m property fraud so pair could splash cash in Dubai’
Mum Dianne Moorcroft changed her name to convince estate agents she was the owner of a vacant £3m house in Kensington
A MODEL convinced her mother to pose as a multi-millionaire so the pair could share in the spoils of an "audacious" £1.2million property fraud scheme, a court has heard.
Dubai-based model Laylah De Cruz has been accused of convincing her mother, Dianne Moorcroft, to change her name by deed poll to persuade estate agents and solicitors that she was the owner of a £3m Kensington home.
The court heard that the "simple" plan was to obtain a bridging loan against the vacant, multi-million pound home in Eagle Place, before transferring the £1.2m overseas.
The 62-year-old mum has now been accused of changing her name to Margaret Gwenllian Richards to convince people she was the 85-year-old owner of the home.
At her daughter's encouragement, a British passport and Dubai resident's permit in Ms Richard's name was obtained to get a tenancy for the property - and then arrange for its sale while the real owner was living in Cambridge.
The gang then allegedly secured a £1.2million bridging loan against the house before a buyer was found and immediately transferred the money to Dubai, Southwark Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Teresa Hay said: "The fraud itself was as simple as it was audacious.
"The conspirators include not just these two ladies but others who identified a vacant property likely to be of significant value because of where it was in southwest London and then obtained a tenancy for the property."
She added: "Moorcroft would not have become involved in this scam at all if it weren't for the involvement and encouragement of her daughter.
"The roles they played respectively in the grand scheme were relatively small but they were hugely significant in the success of the scam."
The pair deny one count of conspiracy to commit fraud between 1 July and 31 October 2014, and Moorcroft denies a further charge of possession of an identity document with intent.
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The court heard that mum Moorcroft met with a property lawyer, Tim Cope, to arrange for the sale of the home.
Prosecutors Ms Hay said: "What Mr Cope failed to notice either in advance or at that meeting is that the image on the passport didn't appear to match that on the resident's permit... and neither of those images matched those of the woman sitting in front of him at that meeting.'"
Moorcroft convinced Mr Cope she owned the Eagle Place property and he acted as a solicitor in the sale of the house, jurors heard.
The fraudsters then applied for a loan against the property before a buyer was found - receiving a £1.2m bridging loan that was immediately transferred to another account on October 21 2014.
Mr Cope and Fincorp were informed that the land registry suspected a fraud on 27 October 2014 - but efforts to retrieve the money were "pointless" as it had been withdrawn in cash.
Police began investigating the alleged fraud in January 2015 and discovered there were only two people in the UK named Margaret Gwenllian Richards.
Moorcroft was arrested at her home in Blackpool in February 2015 and gave a no comment interview.
De Cruz was arrested in May 2016 after travelling to the UK from Dubai and also declined to answer questions.
Police have since said they found text messages between the mother and daughter, sent between July 13 and 15 in 014, discussing the deal.
The court heard the conspiracy involved De Cruz's lover Karl Cronin and a man 'purporting to be' Mark Armstrong, who are not before the court.
In one message De Cruz said: "Karl said we are going forward 100%."
Moorcroft replied: "I don't know whether I can because of the medical situation, they're complicated to change medical records if passport in different name."
Another message from De Cruz read: "It's 30k you fly here for two days then back. You can change back to your other name it's only your passport."
She later texted: "It's now 100k for you."
Ms Hay said Karl Cronin "was communicating with both ladies", and said "someone else must have been involved in the fraud in the UK".
Moorcroft of Warley Road, Blackpool, and De Cruz, who currently lives in Dubai, each deny one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and Moorcroft also denies a count of possession of an identity document with improper intent.
The trial continues.
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