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Four Irish OAPs charged over alleged major property racket in England and Cyprus

Ulster OAPS face charges of attempting to defraud UK mortgage firm

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Four pensioners from Northern Ireland have been charged in connection with an alleged major property racket.

The charges faced by the OAPs and six other people include attempts to defraud a mortgage company out of huge sums of money to buy properties in Liverpool and Manchester.

Some of those involved are also alleged to have tried to con investors out of cash over bogus holiday properties in Cyprus.

The majority of those charged in connection with the case are from Northern Ireland, with the others living in England.

Among the accused are Diarmuid Phoenix (78) and Catherine Phoenix (74), both of whom live at the same address at Lansdowne Road in north Belfast.

Diarmuid Phoenix faces six charges in connection with the alleged property fraud. Three of the allegations relate to an abuse of his position as a director of a company called Property International (Private Clients) Limited, which was set up in 2004 and dissolved earlier this year.

Phoenix is accused of dishonestly misleading clients of the company’s that if they invested in a residential development in Cyprus, they would own property in the development.

He is also charged with conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to commit fraud by making false representations in connection with the proposed purchase of houses in Salford and in Liverpool. The charges faced by Phoenix are alleged to have happened between October 2007 and May 2014.

Catherine Phoenix is charged with conspiring to dishonestly make a false representation to TMB (The Mortgage Business) that a deposit to buy a property in Salford came from her own savings when it actually came from Property International Limited.

She is alleged to have made the false representation to the mortgage company between July 1, 2008 and August 8, 2008.

When the Sunday World called to the Phoenixes’ address, Diarmuid said he was not in a position to comment.

The other people charged in connection with the alleged property racket are:

Russell Price (56), from Hillsborough Court in Belfast, is charged with 12 offences between October 2007 and May 2014. These include four counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation, three of fraud by abuse of position and two of conspiracy to defraud.

He is also charged with acquiring and using criminal property. Also among the offences he is alleged to have committed is conspiring to defraud investors in the Savoy Hotel in Cyprus by telling them their monies would be invested in the Savoy Ottoman Palace and Casino.

Maria Price (45) from Royal Lodge Gardens in Belfast, faces eight charges. She is accused of acquiring and using criminal property and entering an arrangement to acquire criminal property.

Price is also charged with failing to comply with money laundering legislation. She is further charged with three counts of fraud by abuse of position, also in relation to Property International Limited, and conspiracy to defraud. The offences are all alleged to have taken place between October 2007 and May 2014.

Dermott O’Kane (68), of Kilbright Road, Millisle, Co Down, faces six similar charges to Diarmuid Phoenix. Three of the allegations also relate to an abuse of his position as a financial adviser at Property International Limited. O’Kane is accused of dishonestly misleading clients in the company that if they invested in a residential development in Cyprus, they would own property in the development.

He is charged with conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in connection with the proposed purchase of houses in Salford and in Liverpool.

The charges faced by O’Kane are alleged to have happened between October 2007 and May 2014.

Nicola Price (55), from Wild Briar, Wokingham, England, faces four charges of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in relation to mortgage applications for four properties in Salford.

These offences are alleged to have happened between July 1, 2008 and August 8, 2008.

Stella Donnelly (76), from Paulden Avenue in Manchester, faces four counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and one charge of fraud by false representation.

The charges, which also relate to properties in Salford, are alleged to have taken place between June 1, 2008 and August 9, 2008.

Kevin McKendry (74), from Upper Newtownards Road in Belfast, is charged with acquiring criminal property worth £5,000 on a date unknown between December 1, 2009 and January 11, 2011. He is further accused of conspiring to defraud investors in the Savoy Hotel in Cyprus between January 1, 2009 and January 31, 2010.

Michaela Daniel (61), from Kilbright Road, Millisle, Co Down, is charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by making a false representation to TMB that a deposit to buy a property in Salford came from her savings when it actually came from Property International Limited.

She is alleged to have made the false representation between July 1, 2008 and August 1, 2008.

Diarmuid Phoenix (42), from Ballylenaghan Heights in Belfast, is charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation in connection with the proposed purchase of a house in Salford between July 1, 2008, and August 1, 2008.

There is no suggestion the owners of the Savoy Hotel or the Savoy Ottoman Palace and Casino in Cyprus were involved in the alleged criminal activity.

A barrister for the PPPS last week told a court hearing in Belfast they had recently received 13 files – around 6,000 pages – in relation to the case.

The case was adjourned until next month for an update.