Margaret Paterson, known as Madam Moneybags, was sentenced to 5 years in prison for running a prostitution and escort service in her posh flat in Edinburgh's West End. She made a fortune from operating a stable of call girls, but her addiction to luxury shopping and allowing clients to visit her premises ultimately led to her downfall.
MARGARET PATERSON AT EDINBURGH HIGH COURT WHERE TODAY SHE WAS SENTENCED TO 5 YRS FOR RUNNIG A BROTHEL IN A POSH FLAT IN EDINBURGHS WEST END SEE STY UNS sex crime vice Edinburgh Scotland prostitutionbrothel boss came down to her lust for luxury as she earned the nickname Madam Moneybags.
Margaret Paterson made a small fortune from running a stable of call girls in a empire built on sex which grew to cover much of Scotland over a decade. It was her addiction to shopping sprees at the city’s most exclusive stores which eventually brought her crashing back down to earth.
She needed ever-increasing sums of cash to satisfy her lust for designer goods but it was never enough despite her pile of unused handbags in her bedroom eventually reaching 7ft tall. As she tried to squeeze every last drop of profit from the escort service, she made one crucial mistake - allowing clients to visit the West End flat that she ran her empire from.
That move legally transformed the posh Grosvenor Street premises into a brothel and, in one fell swoop, it completely changed the Paterson is said to have blamed a rival agency for first tipping off cops that women operating in her escort service were allegedly being forced intocouldn't find evidence to substantiate those allegations of coercion. It wouldn't matter though as the police investigation would quickly turn to uncover the illicit enterprise thought to have earned Paterson over £1 million.
, Paterson began her life far removed from the sordid world which would make her fortune. She grew up on a farm and her family's entrepreneurial success meant she enjoyed a privileged life. Crown Productions showing various high value goods, including Mulberry and Harvey Nichols items, and bags full of cash which were found at addresses in Grosvenor Street Edinburgh belonging to Margaret Paterson. Paterson was convicted of running a lucrative prostitution and escort service in Edinburgh.
PROVIDED BY Crown Office cqiUnderneath her middle-class veneer, Paterson had a ruthless nature and she didn't care how she funded the lavish lifestyle she craved. In 2002, Paterson launched AaBella Escorts with her former lover Robert Munro - the well-regarded bagpipe musician who was a former engineer and restaurant owner. To create mystery in their secret world, she used the moniker of “Trish” while second-in-command Munro became “Stuart”.
Both approached the service with professionalism, recruiting escorts who would complete detailed questionnaires on sexual likes and dislikes. They knew everything. How old every woman was, their nationality, height, hair colour, star sign and cup size. The forms even detailed if they were smokers, bisexual, or had tattoos.
Keen photographer Munro took nude and scantily clad pictures of the women to advertise their services. Some of those photos also ended up online as Paterson, quick to harness the potential of the internet in the early 2000s, began to revolutionise the sale of sex.
They maintained a website featuring explicit images of the working girls and Paterson became obsessed with maintaining top spot in the Google listings whenever anyone searched for an escort agency inAlthough most women were from the UK, Paterson also managed Poles, Romanians and Spaniards. As many as eight would be working on any given night and Paterson would take calls and put potential clients at ease with her polite manner. BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE. Undated Police Scotland handout photo Margaret Paterson.
A man and woman who made "significant profits through the sex trade" have been convicted of brothel keeping. Margaret Paterson, 60, and Robert Munro, 61, who "enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle" from immoral earnings were found guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh, police have said. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Monday June 10, 2013.
They were convicted of brothel keeping, living off immoral earnings, aiding and abetting prostitution and money laundering. An accomplice, Ian Goalen, 59, previously pled guilty to living off immoral earnings. See PA story SCOTLAND Brothel. Photo credit should read: Police Scotland/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption.
Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. She may have maintained a matronly demeanour but Paterson was known to give the vice girls advice on “domination” techniques for submissive customers. As they expanded their empire, Munro began to take enquiries from the rest of the Lothians and then Aberdeen and onto. Business was booming and it was at this point Paterson made the fatal error to open up the basement flat.
Munro opposed the decision to allow “in-calls” for men wanting sex at the basement flat but Paterson was in charge and she wanted to add another revenue stream.launched a probe into the operation and an inquiry team would eventually learn Paterson had 65 vice girls working and thousands of bookings being taken. Officers picked their way through the enormous collections of clothes and handbags, many of which were unworn and still in the original wrapping.
Cash totalling £204,660 was kept in bags and a safe, and there were 100 boxes of unused designer shoes. Marks & Spencer credit card slips showed she blew more than £400,000 in Harvey Nichols, Louis Vuitton and Mulberry. BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE. Undated Police Scotland handout photo Robert Munro.
A man and woman who made "significant profits through the sex trade" have been convicted of brothel keeping. Margaret Paterson, 60, and Robert Munro, 61, who "enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle" from immoral earnings were found guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh, police have said. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Monday June 10, 2013.
They were convicted of brothel keeping, living off immoral earnings, aiding and abetting prostitution and money laundering. An accomplice, Ian Goalen, 59, previously pled guilty to living off immoral earnings. See PA story SCOTLAND Brothel. Photo credit should read: Police Scotland/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption.
Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. Following the trial, Paterson said: “The girls all worked voluntarily. No one forced them. We ran an escort agency, we did not run a brothel because we wanted a proper business.had surveillance on us for six weeks and never saw anybody come to the flat except for two men delivering takeaways and a pizza delivery man.
“When the police did the raid, they didn’t find any customers. Our mistake was to put visits to clients’ houses down as ‘in-calls’. ”. I don’t traffick people.
All the girls working for us have to be at least 20. I can account for all the money they found. Crown Productions showing various high value goods, including Mulberry and Harvey Nichols items, and bags full of cash which were found at addresses in Grosvenor Street Edinburgh belonging to Margaret Paterson. Paterson was convicted of running a lucrative prostitution and escort service in Edinburgh.
Money found in one of the six drawers - total from the six drawers was £144,960 Û700 and $4420 US PROVIDED BY Crown OfficeBut claims that she paid all her taxes and ran a proper business didn’t cut it with the courts. Two years after the guilty verdict, Paterson was slapped with an order to stump up £1 million under proceeds of crime laws. But she didn’t have to part with her precious money during her lifetime.
Paterson died in September 2019 following a cancer battle. In January 2022, it was revealed that she had paid back just £219,559 of the £1 million, leaving her with the largest outstanding amount for any Scottish criminal at the time.
Margaret Paterson Brothel Prostitution Escort Service Luxury Shopping Edinburgh Scotland Manchesters Mulberry Harvey Nichols
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