Mother faces jail for clamping con
A Cannock woman whose car clamping firm extorted thousands of pounds from unsuspecting motorists has been warned a jail sentence is "on the cards".
A Cannock woman whose car clamping firm extorted thousands of pounds from unsuspecting motorists has been warned a jail sentence is "on the cards".
Mother-of-one Rebecca Meakin showed no mercy to her victims, including a doctor taking blood samples for analysis and a grandmother whose 30-month old grandson was still in the car.
A jury ruled that Meakin's clamping and towing away of cars on private car parks in Staffordshire and Worcester was "a scam" and a conspiracy to blackmail.
Stafford Crown Court heard how motorists were targeted without warning, often within moments of leaving the car park. They were then "blackmailed" into handing over nearly £300 to get them back.
Meakin, 27, of Millers Vale, Heath Hayes, denied conspiracy to blackmail but was convicted yesterday.
Judge Simon Tonking remanded her on bail for reports, with conditions including the surrender of her passport, but warned her: "Those who commit offences of blackmail or conspiracy to blackmail are likely to receive a custodial sentence and that is certainly the sentence which is on the cards in this case."
Jurors were told that within minutes of motorists parking, the clampers would appear and a tow truck would take cars away to be left at derelict industrial sites. If motorists tried to argue, the clampers became aggressive and if they tried to find out where their cars were being taken, they were met with "a stone wall".
Motorists who tried to warn others against using the private car parks and falling into the hands of the clampers were threatened.
Meakin, the owner of Rowencroft Immobilisers, was the person giving the orders to the clampers.
"This was a cash cow, rather than an attempt to protect private car parks. An operation not only criminal, but also without compassion," said prosecutor Anthony Potter.
Meakin maintained what she was doing was all legal, if unpopular. But she admitted she ran the clamping operation as "a business", while refuting suggestions that she made "more than £1,000 a day" from it.
