{"id":70681,"date":"2026-08-14T22:02:54","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T22:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/70681\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T22:02:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T22:02:54","slug":"couple-who-fled-to-spain-with-stolen-63k-and-woman-who-hid-husband-among-scotlands-worst-fraudsters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/70681\/","title":{"rendered":"Couple who fled to Spain with stolen \u00a363k and woman who hid husband among Scotland’s worst fraudsters"},"content":{"rendered":"

A couple who fled to Spain with a stolen amount of \u00a363k and a benefits cheat<\/a> who hid her husband from the authorities are among Scotland’s worst fraudsters.<\/a><\/p>\n

Yesterday, we reported that Lesleyann McLean, 44, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court<\/a> after she never told the Department of Work and Pensions that she was living with her husband as she illegally claimed \u00a327,908<\/a>. The benefits agency is now taking the money back from McLean’s benefits at a rate of \u00a35 per month – which will take 465 years to pay back.<\/p>\n

As a result, the Record have taken a look at some more of Scotland’s worst scammers. These include a woman who claimed she could barely walk and claimed thousands of pounds of disability benefits while running a takeaway.<\/a><\/p>\n

Others include a woman secretly filmed completing 5km sprints while alleging she could barely walk and a couple who were outed <\/a>for making \u00a363,000 of false claims.<\/p>\n

Here is a selection of Scotland’s worst fraudsters.<\/a><\/p>\n

Lesleyann McLean\"McLean<\/p>\n

McLean never told DWP that she was living with her husband <\/p>\n

A benefits cheat <\/a>who hid her husband from the authorities has been given nearly 500 years to pay back the money she fraudulently claimed.<\/p>\n

Lesleyann McLean, 44, didn’t inform the Department of Work and Pensions that she was living with her husband as she illegally claimed \u00a327,908. Perth Sheriff Court was told that the benefits agency<\/a> is now taking the money back from McLean’s benefits at a rate of \u00a35 per month.<\/p>\n

The ‘overpayment’ plan means the full sum will take more than 465 years to pay back – and won’t be finished until McLean turns 510 years old. McLean, of Affric Avenue, Scone, admitted that between July 27, 2020, and November 4, 2023, she failed to notify DWP of a material change in her circumstances<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She admitted completing universal credit claim forms stating she was single and lived alone, when the truth was she was cohabiting with Barry McLean, and obtained \u00a327,908 which she was not entitled <\/a>to. Sheriff William Wood placed McLean on a curfew for 12 months as a direct alternative to a prison sentence.<\/p>\n

Julie Smith\"Julie<\/p>\n

Julie Smith<\/p>\n

A woman who claimed she could barely walk claimed thousands of pounds of disability benefits<\/a> while running a takeaway.<\/p>\n

In July this year, we reported that Julie Smith was filmed by fraud investigators as she cooked and served food to customers<\/a>. Hamilton Sheriff Court heard they also watched her driving to shops and loading her car with foodstuffs.<\/p>\n

Smith, 47, of Wishaw, Lanarkshire, admitted providing false or misleading information <\/a>to obtain \u00a313,720.17 from Social Security Scotland between August 2022 and March 2024. Cameron Murdoch, prosecuting, said she applied for adult disability payment, claiming she was in constant pain from fibromyalgia and arthritis, and also suffered from anxiety.<\/p>\n

After checking the information with Smith’s GP, officials awarded her a lump sum<\/a> of \u00a32,147.95 and started paying her \u00a3505.40 a month. Later they were tipped off that she was working full time at JM Munchies in nearby Coatbridge.<\/p>\n

When confronted<\/a>, Smith told officials she had “good days and bad days” and believed she had done nothing wrong by claiming the disability payment.<\/p>\n

Smith was given a 50-day electronic tagging order, meaning she’s confined <\/a>to her home between 7pm and 7am.<\/p>\n

Annette Bond\"Annette<\/p>\n

Annette Bond (Image: COPFS)<\/p>\n

In 2024, a benefits fraudster who was caught on camera running five kilometres while claiming to be barely able to walk was sentenced to two years in prison<\/a>. Under proceeds of crime legislation, Annette Bond has also been mandated to repay almost \u00a370,000.<\/p>\n

Due to a severe condition that she claimed made it difficult for her to get out of bed or even stand up, she claimed <\/a>“enhanced” benefit payments for ten years.<\/p>\n

However, a fraud investigation <\/a>team set up covert surveillance to catch her up to four times a week running 5,000-metre circuits from her home in Stanley, Perthshire.<\/p>\n

The silversmith spent almost ten years fraudulently obtaining \u00a367,062.50 by claiming her mobility was severely impaired due to multiple sclerosis, as the Perth Sheriff Court<\/a> jury heard.<\/p>\n

After the jury watched video footage of Bond leaving her house in high-visibility running gear to go for sub-30-minute 5k runs around her neighbourhood, Bond was found guilty<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Anthony and Janet Kearney\"Anthony<\/p>\n

Anthony Kearney<\/p>\n

In 2013, Anthony and Janet Kearney of Airdrie, Lanarkshire, were exposed <\/a>for making \u00a363,000 in fraudulent claims. The couple was ordered to repay \u00a3943,365 under the Proceeds of Crime Act, but that amount also includes money obtained thru credit card fraud and extortion.<\/p>\n

Despite having over \u00a3330,000 in offshore accounts, they fraudulently <\/a>claimed housing benefits. Additionally, Anthony Kearney received \u00a323,000 in income support.<\/p>\n

After being accused of benefit fraud<\/a>, they fled to Spain, but after showing up on Crimestoppers, they were found in Benissa, on the Costa Blanca.<\/p>\n

In 2010, Kearney was sentenced <\/a>to two years in prison after serving a five-year sentence for separate extortion charges. His 45-year-old partner, who also goes by Donna McCafferty, was mandated to perform 250 hours of community service.<\/p>\n

Only \u00a330,000 has been repaid <\/a>by the couple.<\/p>\n

Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!<\/p>\n

Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.<\/p>\n

You’ll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.<\/p>\n

No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.<\/p>\n

All you have to do is click here<\/a>, select ‘Join Community’ and you’re in!<\/p>\n

We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don\u2019t like our community, you can check out any time you like.<\/p>\n

To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘exit group’.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\n

Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google\u2019s preferred sources. Click HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A couple who fled to Spain with a stolen amount of \u00a363k and a benefits cheat who hid…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70682,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[27681,1484,27680,21424,2782,17],"class_list":["post-70681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spain","tag-benefits-cheats","tag-courts","tag-financial-crime","tag-perth","tag-premium","tag-spain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}