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Fugitive's wife jailed for money-laundering scam
The wife of a fugitive traveller and a pub landlord have been jailed for their involvement in a £1.6m money laundering fraud used to buy a controversial piece of land in Northampton.
Mary Connors, aged 40, had 1.3m in cash and properties confiscated which she and her violent husband James had amassed, despite being illiterate, never working or paying taxes.
They had used the proceeds of distraction burglaries and benefit frauds to buy five properties across the country including two homes in Northampton and a 40-acre plot of land in Kingsthorpe.
Residents' campaign lifted lid on money launderers - click here
It was bought for 138,000 in August 2005 in a sealed bid auction by James Connors, aged 38, posing as James Moorhouse with the help of his common law wife of 25 years.
"It sparked major protests from residents and local politicians amid fears up to 200 travellers' caravans were due to descend on the site.
1.6m fortune, but not a day's work - click here
Mary Connors had used the dirty money to buy the land when solicitors would not allow her 17-year-old son, also called James, to buy it due to his age.
Pub landlord Paul Murray, aged 44, from Thirsk in North Yorkshire, helped to launder the money when a 76,000 property in Thornaby, near Middlesbrough, now worth 245,000, was paid for in cash and then ownership placed into his name as a gift but then transferred again on to one of the many aliases used by James Connors.
He admitted two charges of converting criminal property including laundering 44,000 cash after he had walked into a bank with two carrier bags stuffed with the money and paid it into his account before being issued with a banker's draft which was used in part payment for the Kingsthorpe land.
Judge Richard Bray jailed Connors for three years at Northampton Crown Court and Murray was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment in what the judge said was a "most blatant fraud".
He added: "It's a feature of this case at which the mind boggles. Someone can go down to the bank with plastic bags containing cash to the sum of 44,000, hands it across to the cashier and be given a banker's draft.
"I trust the banks do not allow this nowadays because if they do, we are in serious trouble."
The court heard the Connors used false names and the proceeds of burglaries and frauds to buy properties, make income from rents, without ever being employed and while claiming benefits.
Caterina Sjolin, prosecuting, said: "It seems a number of professionals accepted at face value the assertions where the money had come from, such as the sale of horses, to enable them opening bank accounts and in transferring property from false name to false name to conceal true ownership of the properties."
Mary Connors admitted converting 215,000 to buy a house in Thorpville and concealing criminal property by transferring the property title to James Moorhouse.
She also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conceal criminal property over the purchase of the Kingsthorpe land, three other money laundering offences and five charges of benefit fraud.
At one stage, she was fraudulently claiming benefits from the Government despite escaping from a prison sentence imposed for burglary.
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