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Mortgage fraudster to repay £500,000 spent on lavish lifestyle

Samantha Partington
Written By:
Posted:
April 15, 2015
Updated:
December 13, 2023

A fraudster has been ordered to repay £500,000 as proceeds of crime which he obtained through a mortgage scam, allowing him to fund lavish holidays and property purchases.

Grant Allen, 38, from Harlow in Essex, used the funds to buy a holiday home on the Costa Del Sol, Spain and properties in Essex and Hertfordshire.

Money was spent on first class travel around the world with his girlfriend, Gaynor Godwin, who stayed with him in luxury hotels on at least eight holidays which cost £30,000 between 2006 and 2010.

The pair took Allen’s children to Disneyland, Florida, in 2009 which cost £8,700 and splashed out another £7,600 on trip to Dubai in 2009.

A report on the Daily Mail said the court at the Old Bailey heard, on Monday 13 April, that Allen hid the fraud by buying and trading properties and funnelling cash through his girlfriend’s bank account without her knowledge.

His Essex home was raided in 2011 at which time piles of cash were discovered along with £1,000 hidden in the extractor fan.

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Judge Stephen Kramer QC ordered Allen to pay back £491,000 as proceeds of crime.

The fraudster, who was jailed for six years for mortgage fraud and money laundering, could face further jail time of three years if the money is not repaid.

Edward Byatt, 39, of Buckhurst Hill, Essex, was also involved in the scam and was ordered to repay £10,000. 

Allen, who said he worked as a builder and meat trader, claimed the funds had come from successful gambling ventures, according to reports.

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