Siblings running loan shark business ordered to pay back £350K
A brother and sister who operated a loan shark business have been ordered to pay back more than £350,000.
John Mulvey, 57, and Mary Wilding, 71, appeared at Isleworth Crown Court in February 2020 when they were each sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for two years after admitting illegal money lending.
The case came before the court once again yesterday for a hearing where the pair were ordered to pay back £357,719.
They have three months to pay the money back and their sentences of two and half years for Mulvey and two years for Wilding were fixed.
The case was prosecuted by the England Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) alongside trading departments in Croydon and Lambeth councils and the Met.
The IMLT got their first warrants to enter Mulvey’s home, in Greyhound Lane, Streatham Vale, and Wilding’s home in Limpsfield Road, South Croydon, in December 2017.
Officers found thousands of pounds in cash as well as loan agreements and loan books.
The court at the time heard that 404 loans, valued at over £334,000, had been provided to 53 regular borrowers since 2013. Victims were charged 25 per cent interest on loans and told to keep the agreement secret.
Tony Quigley, head of the IMLT, said: “This is a case that has been going on for some years, but it shows that we are determined to ensure these illegal lenders do not continue to benefit from their criminal behaviour.
“Part of the money that is paid back through the proceeds of crime act will be reinvested to strengthen our work to protect the most vulnerable from these ruthless predatory lenders.
“I would urge anyone with any information about illegal lending activity to report it through our confidential hotline, so we can take action and remove these people from our communities.”
(Picture: Images of Money/Flickr)
Loan sharks! What a joke. Helping people who couldn’t borrow from anywhere else, when needed to bury a family member, also lower interest rates than all, and never threatening behaviour!
Shame the farcical justice system doesn’t prosecute real criminals!
A few facts:
We weren’t sharks, we charged 25% flat fee, Not APR.
We never pressured anyone, made any demands, added late or missed payment fees.. nothing..
Just when you paid up, you could have another loan.
I invested £30k in to a very small business and asked people to keep it secret as we couldn’t help everybody.
Not a single customer made a complaint.
And almost every customer offered a reference saying how much we helped them.
The case was brought by Birmingham trading standards and West Midlands police, as Provident Personal Credit have their head office in the Midlands.
My sister was an ex Provident agent and we nicked some of their customer.
I’m now about to lose my home of 37 years and still go to prison, as my bedsit won’t make anything like the amount they want.
I’ve had zero defence from my barristers and seeking an appeal.
This has dragged on for 6 years and made me suicidal.