 The court was shown a video of Janis Gabriel's 'lavish' home |
A mother-of-seven who claimed she funded a lavish lifestyle through bingo and her husband's thriftiness is facing a possible jail sentence. Janis Gabriel, 49, from Padiham, Lancashire, was convicted on two counts of possession of criminal property.
Her council house was described as a palace with jacuzzi, four-poster water bed, swimming pool, fitted kitchen, conservatory and 42-inch plasma TV.
She was bailed at Burnley Crown Court before sentencing in four weeks.
The court heard Gabriel received �2,000 a month in benefits for her seven children and disabled husband John.
She is accused of funding the family's lifestyle through the proceeds of criminal activity. Gabriel claims to have won cash on bingo and said her husband was a "penny-pincher".
But when police raided her home last year they found �18,000 in �20 notes and bank accounts with thousands more.
Gabriel was found guilty of two counts of being in possession of criminal property after a four-day trial.
Lancashire Police said Mrs Gabriel's conviction is its first under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Pc Gia Rowland of Lancashire Police's Financial Investigation Unit, said: "The prosecution followed a lot of hard work and obviously we are extremely pleased at the outcome which sends out the strongest possible message to people having a lifestyle funded by any form of criminal activity.
"This case clearly illustrates that crime does not pay and that any form of money laundering will not be tolerated and all illegal gains, in whatever form will be confiscated."
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This case clearly illustrates that crime does not pay 
