A MUM who posed as a millionairess to pull off a property scam is facing jail with her model daughter after they were both convicted of fraud today.

Dianne Moorcroft, 62, changed her name by deed poll to convince estate agents and solicitors she was Margaret Gwenllian Richards, 85, the owner of a vacant £3million house in Kensington.

Moorcroft's daughter, Dubai-based stable owner and model Laylah De Cruz, 31, encouraged her mother to take part in the fraud at the insistence of her "playboy" lover Karl Cronin.

The court heard that the "simple" plan was to obtain a bridging loan against the vacant, multi-million pound home in Eagle Place, before transferring the £1.2m overseas.

The 62-year-old mum was accused of changing her name to Margaret Gwenllian Richards to convince people she was the 85-year-old owner of the home.

At her daughter's encouragement, a British passport and Dubai resident's permit in Ms Richard's name was obtained to get a tenancy for the property – and then arrange for its sale while the real owner was living in Cambridge.

The gang then allegedly secured a £1.2million bridging loan against the house before a buyer was found and immediately transferred the money to Dubai, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Teresa Hay said: "The fraud itself was as simple as it was audacious.

"The conspirators include not just these two ladies but others who identified a vacant property likely to be of significant value because of where it was in southwest London and then obtained a tenancy for the property."

She added: "Moorcroft would not have become involved in this scam at all if it weren't for the involvement and encouragement of her daughter.

"The roles they played respectively in the grand scheme were relatively small but they were hugely significant in the success of the scam."

The pair denied one count of conspiracy to commit fraud between 1 July and 31 October 2014, but were today found guilty by a jury. The judge directed the jury to find Moorcroft not guilty of a further charge of possession of an identity document with intent.

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After deliberating for eight and a half hours, a jury of seven women and five men found Moorcroft and De Cruz guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud by a majority of 10-2.
Neither the blonde haired, bespectacled mother or her dark haired daughter reacted as they were told they warned they both face jail.
Moorcroft admitted she impersonated Ms Richards but went along with it because she wanted to help her daughter out after Cronin paid off a debt of £161,000 for De Cruz in Dubai.
De Cruz did not give evidence during the week-long trial at Southwark Crown Court.

The judge, Ms Recorder Cheryl Jones ordered reports and adjourned sentence until March 10.
Cronin, 50, is thought to be responsible for defrauding Fulham and Chelsea landlords of more than £5m, and is still wanted hunted by police eight years after a Crimewatch appeal.
He is known to have used 11 aliases and targeted estate agents by claiming to be the owner of rented properties on which the mortgage had been fully paid.
He would then remortgage the properties, take the cash and leave the rightful owner with the bill.

The court heard that mum Moorcroft met with a property lawyer, Tim Cope, to arrange for the sale of the home.

Prosecutors Ms Hay said: "What Mr Cope failed to notice either in advance or at that meeting is that the image on the passport didn't appear to match that on the resident's permit… and neither of those images matched those of the woman sitting in front of him at that meeting.'"

Moorcroft convinced Mr Cope she owned the Eagle Place property and he acted as a solicitor in the sale of the house, jurors heard.

The fraudsters then applied for a loan against the property before a buyer was found – receiving a £1.2m bridging loan that was immediately transferred to another account on October 21 2014.

Mr Cope and Fincorp were informed that the land registry suspected a fraud on 27 October 2014 – but efforts to retrieve the money were "pointless" as it had been withdrawn in cash.

Police began investigating the alleged fraud in January 2015 and discovered there were only two people in the UK named Margaret Gwenllian Richards.

Moorcroft was arrested at her home in Blackpool in February 2015 and gave a no comment interview.

De Cruz was arrested in May 2016 after travelling to the UK from Dubai and also declined to answer questions.

Police have since said they found text messages between the mother and daughter, sent between July 13 and 15 in 014, discussing the deal.

The court heard the conspiracy involved De Cruz's lover Karl Cronin and a man "purporting to be" Mark Armstrong, who are not before the court.

In one message De Cruz said: "Karl said we are going forward 100 per cent."

Moorcroft replied: "I don't know whether I can because of the medical situation, they're complicated to change medical records if passport in different name."

Another message from De Cruz read: "It's 30k you fly here for two days then back. You can change back to your other name it's only your passport."

She later texted: "It's now 100k for you."

Ms Hay said Karl Cronin "was communicating with both ladies", and said "someone else must have been involved in the fraud in the UK".

Moorcroft of Warley Road, Blackpool, and De Cruz, who currently lives in Dubai, were both convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit fraud between 1 July and 31 October 2014.

Judge Jones had earlier directed the jury to find Moorcroft not guilty of a further charge of possession of an identity document with improper intent.
Mother and daughter were bailed ahead of sentence on March 10.
Cronin remains on the run.

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