A former police inspector and her ex-special const

A former police inspector and her ex-special constable husband are facing years bars today (Mon) after they were convicted of an elaborate property fraud.

Using aliases, disguises and forgeries, Anne and Eugene O’Grady withdrew thousands of pounds from the bank accounts of clients who used the couple’s property company.

One tenant found they had plundered more than pnds stlg 6,820 from his business account using a standing order forged by Anne O’Grady, 40.

Another discovered the inspector had stolen cheques from his bank book and filled them in herself.

O’Grady then paid more than pnds stlg 1,500 into an account she had set up set up under a bogus name.

The couple also forged power of attorney documents when a local authority tried to repossess a council flat under their control.

Judge Simon Goldstein allowed the pair bail until Wednesday, when they are due to be sentenced but warned: ‘These are very serious offences.

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When detectives caught up with the pair they blamed one of the woman’s imaginary aliases, who they insisted was an actual person working for the property firm.

The inspector, who has been pensioned off by British Transport police, also tried to dodge responsibility by claiming mental illness.

She told the court she was so depressed she had admitted writing incriminating letters during police interviews to gain ‘self esteem’ with her colleagues.

Her accountant husband, 42, also said he is suffering from mental illness, claiming and the sight of of his name in a newspaper could lead a complete break-down.

Anne O’Grady of, The Avenue, Worcester Park, Surrey, denied four charges of theft, three of obtaining property by deception, four of using a false instrument and one of procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception.

Eugene O’Grady who was bailed to (2) Cannons Lane, Banstead, Surrey denied three charges of using a false instrument and two of obtaining property by deception.

They both further denied perverting the course of justice in relation to the council flat.

After five hour’s deliberation, the jury convicted the pair of all counts with the exception of one charge each of using a false instrument, of which the couple were acquitted on the direction of the judge.

Prosecutor Mr Matthew Kennedy said: ‘This woman stole money in various ways.

She adopted disguises and various names.

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The court heard the couple ran Portland Property Management Services and rented a flat in Tynemouth Street, Fulham, to businessman Roy Ingram on behalf of the landlord.

Two years after Mr Ingram left the flat, he discovered five pnds stlg 570 cheques had been taken from his cheque book.

Three had been paid into the Woolwich building society in Putney High Street, under a joint account in his name and that of Sarah Ingram, who he had never heard of.

A handwriting expert later found the cheques had been made out in Anne O’Grady’s hand, as had the form used to open the account.

Horrified Mr Ingram then discovered she had also plundered a dormant business account of pnds stlg 6,820.

The cash had been syphoned off though a standing order, set up with documents forged by O’Grady.

It was deposited into the Halifax in North End Road, Fulham, in an account set up under in Mr Ingram’s name.

Another of his accounts with the First Direct bank had been used to buy a pnds stlg 900 computer on
mail order, which had been delivered to his old address in Tynemouth Street.

The computer was later recovered from the O’Grady’s home.

In July 1998 two young women, Claire Osmond and Rebecca Smith moved into Tynemouth Street for a rent of pnds stlg 875 a month, agreed with a woman who used the name Sarah Walker.

Sarah Walker was in fact Anne O’Grady, wearing a brown wig and fake spectacles.

Both girls later found pnds stlg 437.

50 had been withdrawn from their accounts, again by the use of bogus standing orders forged by O’Grady.

A doctor who had lived at the flat also found a pnd stlg 851 standing order had been set up to pay into the Halifax account.

The O’Grady’s lived in a flat at the rear of property they owned in Worcester Park, Surrey.

PPMS invoiced for huge service charges on other flats in the property, which were backed up by a surveyor’s report.

One family were so fed up with the service charges they decided to sell – only to be landed with a bill for pnds stlg 16,691.

The bill, of which the buyer had to pay pnd stlg 1,250, wiped out most of the family’s profit on the sale of the flat.

It was later found the survey was based on a informal report on the property given to the husband and the surveyors’s report had been forged.

Penny Thomas, who also lived at the block, later found two cheques stolen from her book and made out for pnds 387 and pnds stlg 385.

Both had been written out by Anne O’Grady and paid into the Ingram account at the Halifax.

When the tenant of a council flat in Tynemouth Street vanished, the keys mysteriously came into the O’Grady’s possession.

They went on to a forge power attorney documents from the previous tenant, giving them authority to sub-let the flat.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council tried to reposses the flat but Anne O’Grady even faked a hospital letter stating the tenant was too ill to attend a county court hearing.

Anne O’Grady posed as ‘Sarah Ingram’ when the case was heard at West London County Court and later both husband and wife made misleading statements to Hammersmith and Fulham about their assets.

Police colleagues found Anne O’Grady was in when they arrived to arrest her, but she refused to come to the door which had to be battered down.

She then tried to hide two computer discs and a notebook seized by detectives.

Officers later found the brown wig and hairbrush behind a chest of drawers in the bedroom.

Detectives later showed Anne O’Grady a letter discussing her BTP pension and she admitted the writing was hers.

A top graphologist later matched the handwriting to some of the forgeries, causing O’Grady to withdraw her admission.

She then claimed the depression which had apparently driven her out of the police force had also made her admit something which was untrue to impress her colleagues.

Together the couple claimed Sarah Ingram really did exist and she was responsible for the forgeries and theft when she worked for PPMS.

But the jury found she had been dreamt up by the former police officers to cover up their crookedness.

All the offences took place between July 1997 and March 1999.

Anne O’Grady was pensioned off a month later, in April last year.

Her husband was a special constable for twelve years serving at Chelsea and Fulham police stations.

Eugene O’Grady, who was once commended by the Commisioner for helping to save a man’s life, has since left the volunteers.

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