Laylah De Cruz (pictured), who lived in Dubai, got her mother Dianne Moorcroft to pose as the 91-year-old owner of a £3m property in Kensington, in order to take out fraudulent loans against the property.
Moorcroft had changed her name by deed poll in order to open bank accounts in the dead woman’s name, before successfully taking out a £1.2m bridging loan against the property.
De Cruz was sentenced to five years in jail, while Moorcroft got three years, in March this year, as well as being ordered to repay the money.
However, a confiscation hearing at Southwark Crown Court was told that De Cruz is down to her last £375, while Moorcroft has less than £2,000 available to hand back.
Prosecutors believe De Cruz blew a fortune on her luxury lifestyle, though they acknowledge that neither woman was the mastermind behind the scam. That is believed to be alleged fraudster Karl Cronin, who remains at large.
Moorcroft has been ordered to pay back almost £2,000 within 28 days or face a one-month extension to her sentence, while confiscation proceedings against De Cruz have been adjourned until 7 December to give her the chance to get representation and provide evidence of her financial position.
