A man who amassed millions of pounds through a mortgage fraud scam has been stripped of his fortune following a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing.
Michael Browne led a widespread housing racket in Coventry which allowed him to build up a property portfolio across the city on the back of false mortgage applications.
He used the services of mortgage adviser Mark Campbell to acquire loans, overstating his income on applications. Campbell was subsequently sentenced to five and a half years in jail.
Money obtained through the scam was even used by Browne to buy a Spanish villa which he named Casa de Miguel Browne.
But the property was raided in November 2008 by West Midlands Police officers investigating financial irregularities emerging from a major drugs crime operation.
The 50-year-old was jailed for three years in September 2010 and was then handed a further 12 months last March after being found guilty of breaching a court order by trying to continue directing his assets whilst in prison.
Officers from the Regional Asset Recovery Team vowed to chase Browne’s ill-gotten gains – and at a confiscation hearing a Birmingham Crown Court judge ordered Browne to pay back a total of £2,395,429.
Detective Sergeant Chris Bates from the Regional Organised Crime Unit said: “Browne acquired significant wealth through an organised con for many years – he admitted fraud at court when faced with the overwhelming evidence we’d gathered against him. Many others have been convicted and many others are still being investigated and prosecuted.
“Any criminal who thinks police investigations end upon court sentencing must think again because we will fight to recover any money or property we believe has resulted from their criminal activity.
“We will go after these criminals who flaunt the wealth they have gained even though they don’t appear to do a day’s honest work. It takes time, but we will get them.
“His assets will remain restrained by order of the court until he sells them and hands over the money. If anyone has any further information about assets he owns or he tries to sell, then I’d urge them to contact police.”
Browne must repay the money within six months or face a further seven years in prison; even if he then fails to pay he will still owe the money following his additional seven-year prison term.
He was initially arrested as part of Operation Closedown – a West Midlands Police purge on drug dealing in Coventry which saw 39 offenders sentenced to a total of 140 years in prison following raids at the end of 2008.
More than 300 officers were involved in the operation and £6m worth of assets seized by the courts.
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