Great-grandmother, 83, dubbed 'Britain's oldest loan shark' is ordered to repay ... trends now
A great-grandmother, dubbed 'Britain's oldest loan shark', has been ordered to repay £173,000 after charging cash-strapped customers 40% interest on loans.
Investigators found that Tabitha Richardson, 83, had loaned more than £120,000 at high rates over the last 20 years, targeting just seven victims.
Richardson was 'threatening and menacing' towards frightened customers, and told one, 'just ring me, you know I can find you'.
Now the loan shark has been ordered to pay back the £173,195.92 she has made or face 19 months in jail.
Six of the great-grandmother's victims will receive compensation, totalling £35,285.
Tabitha Richardson (pictured), a great-grandmother dubbed 'Britain's oldest loan shark', has been ordered to repay £173,000 after charging cash-strapped customers 40% interest on loans
Investigators found that she had loaned more than £120,000 at high rates over the last 20 years, targeting just seven victims
Last August, Richardson was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, at Cardiff Crown Court.
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.'
Richardson texted one male victim, who borrowed £31,000 and paid back interest in the region of £12,400: 'You have got to speak to me and let me know what's going on before I come looking for you'.
Another female victim, who borrowed in the region of £46,300 and paid back £18,600 in interest, also received threatening messages, with Richardson texting her: 'I don't want to come and look for you but you're
