A COUPLE who remortgaged their home to invest in the fraudulent property scheme run by disgraced solicitor Michael Lynn have revealed how they are now facing a €70,000 debt as a result of the scam.

Caroline Taylor and her husband, Kevin, remortgaged their house in 2006 on the advice of the solicitor, in the hopes of making enough money in the property scheme to pay for their children's education.

However, the couple were among the many victims of the rogue solicitor and were left facing massive debts after the scheme collapsed and Lynn fled the country.

Caroline is now facing the horrible reality that she will never again see the €57,000 she paid for a property in Bulgaria and she estimates that she will end up paying a further €20,000 in interest. They now face 12 more years of debt with their building society.

There are more than 250 legal proceedings against Lynn from banks and other financial institutions, and from many of his clients. His debts have been estimated at €80m.

The mother-of-three told the Herald: "What I was hoping to do was to give my twins and my eldest daughter a future, and I thought it would make a good investment.

"We thought we would start a nest egg for our three daughters and we were looking at it as a pension plan basically."

Caroline and Kevin, who are from Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, agonise now over the fact that they chose Lynn over another investor, because they thought he was trustworthy.

"We did look at another investor but he was foreign-based, so we thought we'd better go with someone Irish.

"We were offered a 20pc reduction on the sale price. We handed over the money to Michael Lynn and then of course, he just went off with it."

Right up until the news broke of Lynn's fraudulent actions, the couple thought they were making a sizeable profit on their Bulgaria property purchase, which later turned out to be non existent.

"Just before the Law Society closed him down, we were told the property was now in the region of €85,000."

strain

Now the couple fear that their decision will have serious financial implications for their family well into the future.

"Now we have to pay the €57,000 back, but my problem is that it isn't just the €57,000 but the interest as well. If I paid all of the money now, I'd save myself over €20,000 in interest," Caroline explained.

The couple have been lobbying the Government and TDs to get justice for themselves and other investors.

"Because he obtained the money fraudulently, the insurance people don't have to pay anyone out the money.

"What grieves us is that there's no help for anyone. The Law Society don't want to pay us out of the compensation fund."

The added debt and flopped investment have brought huge strain on the household but Caroline and Kevin say they are just glad to have their health and that of their daughters, Katie (20) and twins Alice and Jessica (15).

"I have been duped by this man. I'm angry because we're just a normal couple trying to keep our heads down and make ourselves secure.

"It could actually devastate my family, but we were just trying to improve my children's future. If my husband lost his job, how would we pay our mortgage?"

However, Caroline says she is not out to seek revenge and see Lynn jailed -- she just wants her money back.

"Sending him to prison does nothing for me, it doesn't help my situation. I'm not out for vengeance with him.

"What I would like him to do is to consider the investor.

"The banks have the country to save them, but myself and the other investors have nobody. We gave the money in good faith, and we took him at face value and because of his legal profession we had no reason to doubt him and his honesty.

"We're just the little people, the little voices, and we don't seem to matter."

hnews@herald.ie

- Geraldine Gittens