By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-10-06 20:45:53 | Updated at 2026-10-07 23:03:19
1 day ago
A benefits fraudster from Southport, Merseyside, has been sentenced to four years and three months behind bars for orchestrating a sprawling counterfeit designer clothing racket through Instagram.
Megan Carney-Borrowman, 35, a mother of four, sold fake goods bearing the names of luxury brands including Chanel, Hugo Boss, Versace and Burberry via social media.
Nearly £4.32million flowed through business accounts connected to her operation between 2019 and 2023, with at least £750,000 funnelled into her personal finances.
Throughout this period, she was fraudulently receiving Universal Credit.
Department for Work and Pensions investigators established that she had cheated taxpayers out of £68,300 by concealing her self-employment income, the acquisition of two properties, her cohabitation with husband Jordan Borrowman, and their shared assets.
She also dragged her husband, her mother, and a family associate into the criminal enterprise.
The scheme began to crumble when an unhappy customer, unable to return a counterfeit handbag, reported the matter directly to Chanel. She identified the seller as "Meg Carney" and pointed investigators towards an Instagram account called "dollies_closetx21x."
Chanel alerted the City of London Police, who referred the case to the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit in August 2022.
Megan Carney-Borrowman, from Southport, Merseyside, has been sentenced to four years and three months behind bars for orchestrating a sprawling counterfeit designer clothing racket through Instagram
MERSEYSIDE POLICE
Officers executed search warrants in November 2022, seizing Sandra Carney's mobile phone. Carney-Borrowman attempted to mislead detectives by handing over her son's device instead of her own, while her husband claimed his handset had gone missing.
Messages recovered from Carney's phone directed investigators towards her business partner Adam Yaffe, whose premises were searched the following January.
A second raid on Carney-Borrowman's home in April 2023 uncovered her phone stashed atop her curtains. More strikingly, officers discovered £158,000 in banknotes concealed in her baby's bedroom. She insisted the cash was her children's savings.
Prosecutor James Rae told Liverpool Crown Court that the phone contained overwhelming proof she had been trading in counterfeit merchandise through a "drop-shipping" model, whereby orders were forwarded to overseas suppliers who dispatched items directly to buyers.
A text exchange between mother and daughter following their initial arrests proved particularly damning. "Got to face up to it... We knew it was illegal," Carney-Borrowman admitted.
Megan Carney-Borrowman was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court
Beyond the counterfeit operation, Carney-Borrowman perpetrated a brazen insurance swindle involving a Rolex watch. She filed a claim with Halifax for £8,000 after reporting it "lost" during a night out in Blackpool.
However, when police seized a Rolex from her wrist during a search in March 2024, it bore the identical serial number cited in the insurance claim.
She rang Halifax offering to repay the money, but the bank had already been informed that officers had recovered the watch.
She maintained eight business accounts alongside 18 personal ones - some opened in her own children's names. In total, £4,319,952.73 passed through the commercial accounts, of which £753,419.50 was diverted to her personal finances.
Her mother facilitated the benefits fraud by allowing Carney-Borrowman's Universal Credit payments to be directed into a Monzo account held in Carney's name.
The prosecution identified Carney-Borrowman as the "prime mover" behind the entire fraud. Her mother served as her principal accomplice, while Borrowman played what was described as a supportive role in the conspiracy.
Yaffe received approximately £7,720 from the company accounts and was paid £400 monthly by Carney-Borrowman.
Every defendant entered guilty pleas to conspiracy to commit trademark offences and conspiracy to acquire criminal property.
Carney-Borrowman additionally admitted benefit fraud and conspiracy to defraud in connection with the Rolex claim. Her mother pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting benefit fraud and conspiracy to defraud, while Borrowman confessed to benefit fraud.
Judge Louise Brandon, presiding at Liverpool Crown Court, said: "Involvement at any level of counterfeiting are grave offences. You all contributed. It is a consequence of your arrests that your families will also suffer from your criminality."
Carney received a two-year prison term, suspended for 18 months, along with 120 hours of unpaid work. Borrowman was handed 12 months' imprisonment, also suspended for 18 months, with the same community service requirement. Yaffe received an 18-month community order and 120 hours of unpaid work.
In mitigation, Carney-Borrowman's counsel Nicholas Clarke said her remorse was "reflective of the genuine fear she has for her children." The court heard she had been diagnosed with PTSD following the death of a child.
A proceeds of crime hearing will follow for all defendants except Yaffe, with prosecutors seeking to recover the illicit gains.
