A brother and sister who faked their mother's will and gave themselves the family jewellery business "allowed their greed, lies and deceit to desecrate our late parents' good name", their siblings said.
Elaine Lauro (43) and her brother David (50) were handed jail terms yesterday after a judge said they had “fractured” a once-close family in an offence which “goes to the very fundamentals of family values”.
As the "prime mover" in the fraud, Elaine Lauro was set to gain half of the family business - Kavanagh’s jewellers in Belfast city centre - along with a £154,000 house in Sligo.
David Lauro would also have been handed half the business and a £31,000 property in Leitrim.
Sentencing Elaine Lauro to 11 months behind bars and her brother to seven and a half months, Judge Patrick Lynch said they were "proven liars" and it was clear the family fall out from the fraud “is likely to continue to the next generation".
Outside court in Craigavon, their brother Mark Lauro, standing beside his sister Diane Aston, hit out at their greed.
"As a result of David and Elaine Lauro's fraud we as siblings have been denied the truth of ever knowing what mum’s final wishes actually were," he said.
"Their behaviour goes against what was our mum’s right to have had her last will and testimony followed according to her wishes and her wishes alone.
"They have allowed their greed, lies and deceit to desecrate our late parents' good name.
"Their conduct cannot be condoned in our society and should never be acceptable.
"We are ashamed of their actions and are satisfied with today’s outcome. We would like to thank our immediate family and friends for their support throughout.”
