Two sisters have been found guilty of trying to claim back £161m in VAT which they had never paid.
Andrea and Roberta Vaughan-Owen, of Colwyn Bay, Conwy, were also convicted of illegally claiming tens of thousands of pounds in benefits.
The pair, described as Laurel and Hardy figures by their defence, were found guilty of nine charges of serious fraud by a jury at Caernarfon Crown Court.
Judge Nicolas Parry will sentence both women on Wednesday afternoon.
During a three-week trial, the court was told that the women had lived “beyond the dreams of honest working people”.
As well as their luxury home they rented out a second property, had private health care, paid for private education for Andrea Vaughan-Owen’s children and expressed an interest in items such as a £315,000 Rolls Royce.
Nonsense, deluded, idiotic”
Lee Karu QC Andrea Vaughan-Owen’s counsel on the sisters’ VAT claim
Prosecutor Paul Taylor described the trial as a case “of our times and for our times”.
“A case of, if you want it, you can have it, without doing any work to earn it,” he told the jury as he outlined the case against the two sisters.
‘Laurel and Hardy’
During the trial, the court was told that 42-year-old former Post Officer worker Andrea Vaughan-Owen and Roberta, 37, got money from anyone they could, including banks, insurances companies and through state benefits.
The pair had both claimed incapacity benefits and working tax credits at the same time.
They were also accused of falsely registering companies for VAT purposes, and carrying out mortgage and insurance frauds.
But the main charge facing the two women was an attempt to reclaim £161m in VAT refunds for tax they had never paid in 2008.
The sisters claimed that the attempt to reclaim the massive VAT sum had been a mistake.
Their defence teams said they failed to understand the forms involved.
Lee Karu QC, defending Andrea Vaughan-Owen, said the claim was “nonsense, deluded, idiotic”.
He said the sisters were more like Laurel and Hardy, rather than Bonnie and Clyde crime figures.
But the jury rejected their version of events and found them guilty of all nine charges.
Remanding them in custody, Judge Niclas Parry warned the two sisters: “”The sentences are inevitably to be lengthy custodial sentences.”
