Woman in Advert Fraud 'Could be Sent to UK Jail'
The prosecutor who
put a British woman in jail for 24 years for an "infomercial" fraud in
America says he would "have no problem" if she were sent to a UK
prison and freed early.
Paul Byron, assistant US attorney for
mid-Florida, said he expects Chantal McCorkle, 32, to be transferred under a
treaty agreement between Britain and the United States.
McCorkle, from Slough, Berkshire, was jailed two
years ago after complaints from customer who had bought tapes and courses from
her Mexican husband, William, on how to make money by dealing in repossessed
property. The most anyone lost was $2,000 (£1,400) and all money was returned.
Investigators found some of the "satisfied
customers" in the 30-minute advertising programmes were actors, and a
mansion, plane and car demonstrating the McCorkles' success were rented. The
business was treated as fraudulent, the cash that passed through it was
considered fraud money and each time it was moved or spent it was counted as
having been "laundered", under legislation dating from the 1950s.
After a 10-week trial in Orlando, Florida, the
McCorkles were subjected to the American points system on sentencing. Because
more than $36m had flowed through their business over five years, they racked up
40 points, seven more than a second-degree murderer.
This week, Andrew McCooey of Freedom Now, a
British legal charity acting for McCorkle, said he intended to ask President
Bill Clinton to pardon her. The comments made by Mr Byron to The Independent may
add weight to that plea, or render it unnecessary. He said: "I have already
spoken to the Office of International Affairs and they have said they will do it
[send McCorkle home]. It would not bother me [if she were transferred] and they
let her go.
"If there is a decision to send a person
home to face local laws, so be it. I wouldn't have a problem with that. If I had
an American in a Turkish jail, then I would want them back. If you have a
different system, then you should honour it. International issues transcend
individual cases."
McCorkle was refused permission a year ago to be
sent to a British prison.
She told The Independent in an interview
at the Federal Correctional Institute in Tallahassee: "This is wonderful
news. Whenever I'm released – even if it's 2020 – I want to go home. I'm
appealing, but if they said I could go to a British jail, I'd drop the
appeal."
The Home Office said yesterday that McCorkle
could be transferred to Britain – where she would serve a more realistic
sentence – under a Council of Europe convention.