Proceeds of crime prosecutors want a couple responsible for Scotland’s longest-ever trial to pay a further £165,739 to the public purse.

Crown lawyers want Edwin McLaren to hand over £88,777 and his wife Lorraine to fork out £76,962.

The couple, from Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, were convicted of offences at the High Court in Glasgow resulting from them exploiting vulnerable homeowners.

Edwin McLaren was given 11 years in 2017 for the scam which resulted in him making £1.7 million.

Lorraine was given 24 months for a fraudulent mortgage application on their own home and money laundering involving a sum of £128,000.

A previous proceeds of crime action against the pair was settled in August 2021.

On that date, it was agreed that Edwin benefited to the tune of £1.7 million from his crime. Prosecutors also accepted Lorraine made £694,950 from her criminal activity.

The action was settled with the couple agreeing to pay £4,000 as the Crown were satisfied the couple didn’t have any further assets available at that point in time.

Now prosecutors have used proceeds of crime legislation to resurrect the action against the couple.

On Friday, prosecutor Dan Byrne told judge Lord Arthurson that the Crown believed the couple have benefited from a pension which has become “realisable”.

He also said that a quantity of jewellery - which the Crown says belongs to Lorraine - was “redeemed” from a pawnbrokers last year.

Mr Byrne revealed the new figures being sought by the Crown for the first time on Friday.

He said: “The Crown is seeking £76,962 from Mrs McLaren. We are also seeking a figure of £88,777 from Mr McLaren.

“A pension has become realisable and a quantity of jewellery belonging to Mrs McLaren was redeemed from a pawnbrokers in the latter part of last year.

“The public interest is in favour of the order being granted.”

The pair were responsible for Scotland’s longest-ever criminal trial - it ran for 320 days.

Edwin McLaren was found guilty of 29 charges after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow that began in September 2015 and heard evidence over 320 days.

During their trial, a court heard how McLaren preyed on vulnerable people by arranging for this title deeds of their homes to be transferred to his associates without the victims’ knowledge.

The estimated cost of the trial was £7.5 million.

Jurors heard of the couple’s lavish lifestyle which included luxury holidays in Dubai and spending £100,000 on a ring for her and private schools for their children.

Last year, prosecutor Murdo MacTaggart told Lord Arthurson that the Crown and Edwin McLaren had agreed that McLaren had made £1,722,366.64 during his “course of criminal conduct”.

However, both sides had agreed that the Crown could only recover £4,000 from Edwin McLaren at that point in time.

Meanwhile, Lorraine’s advocate Tony Lenehan KC told the court that she had also came to an agreement with the Crown - she had made £694,950 from criminal conduct. The legislation on proceeds of crime means that the Crown can return to court to seize more money if it becomes aware that the McLarens have more assets.

Now, the Crown have returned to court in a bid to seize more assets from the duo. On Friday, Edwin McLaren told Lord Arthurson that the jewellery didn’t belong to Lorraine and that it belonged to his daughter. He said the Crown had no right to claim it was bought using the proceeds of crime.

He added: “She had paid for it from her own bank account. She paid for it lawfully.”

Mr McLaren also said that he was now in “employment”. He said that the Crown hadn’t yet sent him documents which were necessary to prepare the case.

Mrs McLaren said that the Crown were trying to seize her pension which was “very small”.

She said it was the first time that the Crown had attempted to seize a person’s pension using proceeds of crime legislation.

Mrs McLaren said she needed more time to prepare her defence.

She added: “I will need to look at the law and educate myself.”

Lord Arthurson postponed the hearing which was supposed to be heard in June this year to determine the matter.

The case will now call in the first week of October 2023 and the court will hear evidence over a four day period.