A GREAT-gran aged 83 was caught operating as Britain's oldest illegal loan shark – and told frightened customers: "You know I can find you."
White-haired Tabitha Richardson was described as "threatening and menacing" preying on hard-up neighbours with 40 per cent interest on six-month loans.
Investigators found she got away with being a loan shark for 20 years – illegally loaning more than £120,000 at sky-high rates from just seven victims an anti-crime team managed to trace.
Officers from the Wales Illegal Money Lending Unit also found a safe with more than £6,000 cash at her home in Newport, Gwent, even though she claimed to have lost the keys.
A court heard that when they missed payments, Richardson texted one victim: "Just ring me, you know I can find you."
She sent another a message saying: "You have got to speak to me and let me know what's going on before I come looking for you".
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The male victim borrowed £31,000 and paid back interest in the region of £12,400.
Another female victim also received threatening messages, with Richardson texting her "I don't want to come and look for you but your not leaving me any other thing to do. Let's not fall out, we have known each other for a long time".
She borrowed in the region of £46,300 and paid back £18,600 in interest.
Another man first borrowed £2,000 to cover the costs of Christmas, and she would attend his home on a weekly basis to collect repayments.
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He went on to take out two to three loans a year being charged 40 per cent in interest on a 28-week loan – and paid £765 in interest from another loan of £1,850.
Another victim began borrowing money from Richardson in order to keep up with his mortgage repayments.
The court heard she worked for a legal loans company but her individual money lending licence expired in 2003.
When payments were missed, Richardson often sent text messages described as "threatening and menacing" in an investigation launched by the Wales Illegal Money Lending Unit.
In August 2022, a search was carried out of her home by officers who found a large number of financial documents and loan books.
A safe was found in her garage which she said only contained property deeds and that she had lost the keys.
A locksmith was called and £6,500 cash was found inside along with bank books and financial records.
The action brought by WIMLU involved seven victims who had borrowed a total of £126,020.
She accepted that she had made the loans without carrying out proper affordability tests.
She pleaded guilty to engaging in activity requiring a licence when not a licensee, carry on a regulated activity when not an authorised/exempt person and money laundering.
Judge Mr Recorder Ben Blakemore told her she had avoided an immediate custodial sentence "by a whisker" partly due to her age.
She was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, at Cardiff Crown Court.
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A spokesperson for the specialist investigation team said: “Loan sharks are often stereotypically portrayed as hard men wielding baseball bats.
"But Tabitha Richardson is female and despite her age, was menacing to her victims as well, threatening them when they did not pay their debt, often in the full knowledge that her victims were unable to pay.
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