Fraudster Edwin McLaren jailed for 11 years after longest trial in British history

Edwin McLaren, 52, conned dozens of victims over the course of several years.

Mr McLaren was convicted on 29 charges after a successful prosecution case spanning the longest criminal trial in UK legal history.

Lindsey Miller, deputy crown agent at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: “It is rare to have a case of such complexity and I want to pay tribute to the hard work and dedication of the team who brought about this successful prosecution and secured justice for the many victims of Edwin McLaren.

“The case was put together first by the painstaking work of colleagues from Police Scotland and then by the expertise of specialist prosecutors from the Crown.

“McLaren’s actions were conducted in such a covert way that it was an incredibly demanding investigation which took a considerable time to unpick the chain of events before that evidence could then be led in court.

“The prosecuting team were able to put in front of the jury compelling evidence and the story of a man who was calculated in his deception and showed no remorse for the victims of his deceit.”

Mr McLaren’s wife, Lorraine McLaren, was convicted of two charges including one of mortgage fraud. She was sentenced to two-and-half years in prison.

The fraud consisted of targeting those who may have been in financial difficulty and convincing them to sign over their homes before duping them into transferring the proceeds of the sale to a bank account controlled by McLaren.

In some cases, he provided a loan to pay off the mortgage as well as other debts but had instead arranged the sale of their property to a third party.

Cash from the fraud was then used as deposit for the next fraudulent purchase.

He was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow having been found guilty in May 2017 after a trial which began in September 2015.