South Wales Police and the Crown Prosecution Service, working in partnership with Assets Recovery Agency (ARA), have secured the payment of £3.3 million from David Edward Dale from Bryncoch, Neath, a property developer who developed a portfolio of some 450 houses using fraudulent mortgages.
The investigation into the activities of Mr. Dale covered the period from 1991 to 1999, during which he initially obtained at least 57 homes unlawfully using the details of family and friends, before expanding his operation on a more commercial basis. He was convicted in September 2005 after pleading guilty to a range of counts of mortgage fraud.
In December 2005 at Swansea Crown Court, His Honour Judge Burr concluded that Mr. Dale had benefited from his criminal conduct in the sum of £4.2 million, and made a Confiscation Order in that amount. He also ordered Mr. Dale to pay a further £100,000 towards the cost of the prosecution.
In July 2006 at the High Court in London, the Confiscation Order was reduced to £3.3 million, with the judges using their discretion as regards mortgages that were paid with legitimate funds. Mr. Dale was given 12 months to pay this amount. A number of properties in his empire had to be sold to satisfy the order, but selling them all at once in the area where they were located would have resulted in a housing price slump there. The houses were therefore sold in stages, and on 18th January 2007 the order was formally satisfied with a full transfer of £3.3 million to the court.
Following the payment of the sum, ARA Director Jane Earl said: "People who use mortgage fraud to fund property acquisition create a knock-on effect on society by forcing legitimate buyers out of the market. This shows how POCA powers can be used by ARA and our police partners to take away the money people have made on the back of the housing misery of others. It sends a clear message to crooked property entrepreneurs to think again before they engage in this sort of activity."
Gordon Brown must be rubbing his hands with glee.