AFTER what a senior judge called a “breathtaking” campaign of dishonesty, husband and wife fraudsters Edwin and Lorraine McLaren were yesterday jailed for a total of 13 years and six months.

The pair from Quarriers Village in Inverclyde were convicted of property fraud last month at the end of the longest criminal trial in UK history, with 320 days of evidence over 20 months before judge Lord Stewart.

At one point it was feared the trial would collapse after the number of jurors was reduced by illness to 12, the minimum number for a criminal trial in Scotland. The trial was also interrupted to allow one juror to get married, while Lord Stewart passed the official retirement age of 70 but was allowed to carry on. Edwin McLaren was said to be the brains behind the scheme which involved homeowners having the title deeds to their homes being transferred without their knowledge.

He operated the fraud through two companies Property Solutions and Homesale Solutions. McLaren, who would often use a false name, would tell his victims he would sort out their financial difficulties, usually in the form of a loan or leaseback agreement.

They thought they were releasing equity from their homes but McLaren had them sign paperwork which transferred full ownership of their property.

The property was never transferred to him - instead he used family members and friends, and also raised mortgages against the properties.

Witnesses told the court they were not only in financial difficulty but also unwell or bereaved. In the case of one couple McLaren turned up at the Beatson Cancer Centre in Glasgow to get a document signed.

The frauds came to light when a woman in Fife claimed she had not been paid the full amount that she was promised for the sale of her house in Cowdenbeath.

During a two-year police inquiry involving 200 officers, 48 properties were investigated. Twenty-nine cases made it on to the indictment in court, involving properties throughout Scotland.

In a unusual move, the sentencing of both McLarens was televised.

Sentencing him to 11 years in prison, Lord Stewart told Edwin McLaren: “Vulnerable individuals were taken advantage of. The evidence showed breathtaking dishonesty in every aspect of your enterprise by you and those acting on your instructions. The jury found you to be an outright liar. “ Lord Stewart told Lorraine McLaren: “Your husband was the prime force and I accept that. You have a strong personality with a mind of your own. The jury found you to be an outright liar.”

None of the five lawyers who were involved in the transactions were prosecuted as they were granted immunity from prosecution and became witnesses in the trial.