Margarita Clark: 72-year-old East Herts woman jailed over £118,000 Spanish property scam on grieving widow
A 72-year-old East Herts woman who defrauded a grieving former neighbour out of almost £120,000 in a property scam has been jailed.
The deception came to light after the victim’s family discovered that Margarita Clark had been jailed 10 years ago after conning friends out of £2.5 million.
On Friday September 13, Clark was sentenced to 43 months’ imprisonment at St Albans Crown Court after pleading guilty to fraud by false representation.
In 2018, she befriended a woman in her 70s who had moved to the area after her husband died. The pair became close, regularly meeting for coffee and lunch.
Following a discussion about savings, Clark fabricated a story about purchasing property in Spain and offered the victim a chance to invest, in exchange for a cut of the interest.
Over the next two years Clark continued to make up bogus stories to acquire further cash from the victim, totalling around £118,000.
She bought high-end clothing, a new car and even persuaded the victim to pay for a lavish trip to Dubai.
In October 2020, police were contacted by a family member, raising concerns that the victim had been scammed. A Google search by the family had revealed that Clark had been jailed for 40 months in 2014 after conning friends out of £2.5m.
An extensive and complex investigation was launched by the East Herts local crime unit, with support from specialist fraud officers. As a result, Clark, of Fourways, Bayford, was charged in September 2023 and the case proceeded through the courts.
Det Con Emma Cozens, who led the investigation, said: “Clark is a cold and calculating individual. She took advantage of her victim, who was grieving the loss of her husband and had only recently moved to the area.
“The victim genuinely believed she had made a close friend and was left shocked and heartbroken when the truth was discovered. I’m pleased that Clark is now behind bars.”
The detective added: “Discovering you’ve been a victim of fraud can have a devastating impact. Many people are too worried or embarrassed to report what has happened to them.
“If you think you may have been approached in similar circumstances, please do contact police. We take all reports seriously and have specialist teams on hand to help.”
You can report information online at herts.police.uk/report, speak to an operator in the force communications room online via web chat at herts.police.uk/contact or call 101. Alternatively, you can stay 100% anonymous by contacting Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or via the independent charity’s untraceable online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.
