Violent loan shark to repay £1m of fortune

A VIOLENT loan shark who preyed on hundreds of vulnerable people was ordered to pay back £1.2m of his fortune yesterday.

John Kiely, 36, is serving a five-year sentence after being found guilty of blackmail in July.

Kiely, who lived in a seven-bedroom mock Tudor castle in Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, left customers fearing for their lives.

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He charged up to 2,437 per cent interest on loans and used an army of enforcers to collect debts owed by poor families on east Manchester housing estates.

A jury also convicted him of acquiring criminal property, converting criminal property, illegal money lending and failing to provide information to the Office of Fair Trading.

Kiely made 3.6m as a result of his illegal money lending business between 2003 and 2007, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court was told.

The available assets for confiscation came to just over 1.2m, which he must pay within six months, the hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act ruled.

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One of his victims was auxiliary nurse Donna Ockerby, who borrowed 300 from Kiely to pay for her wedding dress.

When she fell behind with her weekly payments, he grabbed her by the neck and threw a slab of concrete through her window. She was so scared she moved to a secret location, the court heard.

Kiely, who comes from the travelling community, has a conviction for assault on a client.