American woman jailed for £135,000 mortgage advisor fraud against Northern Ireland clients

A 56-year-old US citizen who conned Northern Ireland clients out of around £135,000 while working as a mortgage advisor has been jailed for four years.

Marianne Smyth was sentenced today (Friday 17 October) at Downpatrick Crown Court after being found guilty of three counts of fraud by abuse of position and three counts of theft following a four-day trial last month.

The offences date back to when Smyth was working as a mortgage advisor in Northern Ireland between 2005 and 2009.

During that time, she fraudulently obtained large sums of money from customers under the guise of making investments on their behalf — investments which never existed.

To maintain the illusion that the schemes were genuine, Smyth initially paid fake “dividends” directly from her own bank accounts. But by May 2009, those payments stopped, and she fled back to the United States.

Smyth was arrested in Maine in February 2024 under an extradition warrant issued by the UK, following cooperation between the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and US law enforcement agencies. She was returned to Northern Ireland in July 2024, where she has remained in custody ever since.

‘Her only concern was to line her own pockets’

Detective Constable Mark Anderson from the PSNI said the case was the result of a “complex investigation” involving detectives, financial investigators, and international partners.

“Smyth worked as a mortgage advisor in Northern Ireland from 2005 – 2009. During this time, she fraudulently obtained large sums of money from customers for investments which she did not make,” he said.

“In order to keep up the pretence that the investments were providing dividends, Smyth at first paid money to the customers direct from her own accounts. In May 2009, these payments stopped and Smyth returned to the United States.”

Detective Constable Anderson said that Smyth continues to deny all responsibility for her crimes and now faces deportation back to the United States.

“Her victims have waited a long time to see justice served, and we want to thank them for their patience and cooperation with our investigation. Sadly, one of her victims died before court proceedings concluded and our thoughts are with their family today,” he added.

“Fraud is a crime which has a profound emotional impact on its victims, in addition to the long-term financial consequences. Smyth targeted the savings of innocent people, some of whom considered her a friend, and acted with no thought for the long-lasting trauma she caused through her deception. Her only concern was to line her own pockets.”

He said today’s sentencing should “send a clear message” to fraudsters that they will be pursued “no matter how long it takes”.

‘We will listen to you without judgement’

Detective Constable Anderson urged anyone who believes they have been the victim of a similar scam to come forward.

“We know that some victims may feel that there is a stigma attached to ‘falling for’ this type of scam, but we can assure you that devious criminals such as Smyth go to great lengths to appear plausible in order to get their hands on your money,” he said.

“We will listen to you without judgement, and do all we can to help – the only person who has done something wrong is the criminal, and the best way to fight back against fraud is to report to police.”

Anyone who suspects they have been the victim of fraud can contact police by calling 101 or report online at psni.police.uk/report.

Further advice on scams and fraud is available via the PSNI’s fraud awareness portal at psni.police.uk/safety-and-support/keeping-safe/scams-and-fraud.