'Very wealthy' Southsea businesswoman jailed for fraud after £350,000 raid on home

Emma O'Shea was regarded as a 'soft target' by Dean Ryan who hired an associate to break into the house and make off with 'high value' diamond jewellery, designer handbags, and envelopes containing thousands of pounds of cash.

But after discovering the raid, the 46 year old - who refused to believe her partner was involved - tried to con insurers into paying out before fleeing to the Caribbean to avoid having to appear at his trial.

Jailing the mother of one for 30 months, a judge has now slammed O'Shea for being 'selfish' over her insurance fraud following the raid on her £900,000 Southsea home. It was heard that O'Shea - who now lives in a £1.5million home - was 'infatuated' with her partner at the time, business owner Ryan, 41.

Among the stolen items from O'Shea's home was a Tiffany engagement ring worth £15,000, Tiffany platinum diamond earrings worth £16,000, and a Tiffany platinum diamond ring worth £22,000.

Tanzanite diamond earrings worth £43,000 were swiped, a chain diamond necklace worth £58,000 was taken, as were diamond earrings worth £34,000 and a £27,000 round diamond necklace.

Several Chanel handbags, each worth up to £10,000, were stolen as well as Rolex watches worth £7,300, plus sapphire diamond rings and eternity bands worth £4,000 and £8,425, and loose diamonds, worth up to £14,000, were also stolen.

After criminal Ryan orchestrated the raid, O'Shea refused to believe he was behind the burglary and was trying to 'protect' him when he faced justice. The couple agreed to trick O'Shea's home insurance provider by smashing a window and claiming it was broken during the break-in, prosecutors said.

When Ryan was due to stand trial for the burglary, O'Shea - who was still seen as the victim at the time - caused the case to collapse. She hid out in Barbados to avoid giving evidence against Ryan and intimidated her housekeeper, who was also due to give evidence, by warning her 'you won't get another penny'.

Mother of one O'Shea denied her offending but on Thursday was jailed for 30 months for conspiracy to commit fraud, perverting the course of justice, and witness intimidation.

Her mother, Sarah O'Shea, 70, went on trial alongside her for perverting the course of justice - by telling her daughter to stay in the Caribbean - and she was sentenced to six months in custody, suspended for 12 months.

Ryan, who admitted his offences at the start of the trial in January this year, was jailed for four years.

He admitted conspiracy to commit burglary of a dwelling, conspiracy to commit fraud, and perverting the course of justice, which is also a concurrent sentence. He is already serving a nine year sentence for an armed robbery which took place in December 2021.

Ryan's associate Gary Cleeve, 45, who burgled the house, denied conspiracy to commit burglary of a dwelling and has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Both Ryan and Cleeve refused to attend the sentencing at Portsmouth Crown Court.

Sentencing O'Shea, Judge William Ashworth said that she 'acted in her own personal selfish self interest' when she pleaded not guilty to the charges against her, placing a 'burden' on her family.

He said: "Sadly, Miss Emma O'Shea is still in denial about her involvement in these offences. She's very wealthy indeed, and found herself infatuated by Dean Ryan. He found it convenient to have a relationship with her and live under her roof.

"There's no doubt he saw her as a soft target in relation to the burglary before using Miss O'Shea as his own alibi and then playing the role of affronted boyfriend when the burglary was discovered.

"However, when Miss O'Shea realised that the burglar hadn't damaged the property so that her insurance policy was invalid, it wasn't Mr Ryan who was asking her to fraudulently do the window break - quite the reverse. It was her asking Mr Ryan to do it for her, which he did.

"She then proceeded to ask Wioletta Krol [her housekeeper] to back up her story that the window had been broken and then hoped that she could then recover the full sum from the insurance company."

It was heard that Ms Krol had £12,000 in cash stolen but O'Shea has only given her £7,000 back. The court heard that Ryan moved into O'Shea's townhouse in the Southsea area of Portsmouth after they struck up a relationship in 2021.

The eight-minute burglary which prosecutor Dale Sullivan said took place in the afternoon of March 20, 2022, was committed while Ryan was on bail for armed robbery. Ryan has had 16 convictions for 34 offences committed between 1999 and 2004.

He colluded with Cleeve, who raided the property while the couple were out. Mr Sullivan said O'Shea was alerted to the burglary thanks to an alert from her Ring doorbell.

Worried she had been burgled, O'Shea called police but also called her housekeeper Mrs Krol asking her to check her home as she was closer.

Mrs Krol found two ladders propped against the back wall and - crucially - that the dressing room window was open and had not been smashed.

Approximately £350,000 worth of high value jewellery including Tanzanite and Tiffany diamonds, Chanel handbags, Rolex watches and cash were removed from the property by Cleeve.