Thirteen houses seized from a benefit cheat have been sold for more than £1m.
Belfast woman Frances McCluskey, 61, was ordered to hand over more than 40 properties after a judge ruled her assets were the proceeds of crime.
McCluskey claimed benefits for 11 years while at the same time developing a substantial property portfolio.
She obtained almost £5m in loans to buy 41 properties, including two in Spain, while claiming almost £70,000 in benefits.
McCluskey traded as Parkdale Homes based in Priory Park in south Belfast.
She was ordered to hand the properties over to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) in January, and on Thursday night, 13 of the houses were sold at auction for just over £1m.
McCluskey attended the auction and looked on as part of her property empire was sold off.
She even tried to buy one of the houses back - but she was outbid.
Five paintings McCluskey bought using rental income from the houses were also sold for just over £8,000.
The remaining 28 properties will be sold off in the next few months.
In a statement, the social security agency pointed out that it detected the fraud and passed the case on to SOCA.
It said it is looking at any lessons that can be learned.
2 comments:
That comment may or may not have been true, but I can't let it stand without evidence, from an anonymous poster.
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