THEY were the luxury goods bought at top dollar by a fraudster who claimed to be a multi-millionairess before her world came crashing down.
Now the high-end items – confiscated from company secretary Helen Hart to try to pay back the bosses from whom she pilfered a small fortune – can be had for a song.
The police are selling the designer jewellery and shoes on the Bumblebee auction website, including 32 pairs of designer shoes, such as Jimmy Choo, Prada, Russell and Bromley, a Lulu Guinness purse and jewellery from the likes of Gucci, Harrods and Tiffany & Co.
Many of the 71 items are being snapped up at a fraction of their high street values, with bids due to close on Monday.
Items on offer bought by Hart include a Gucci silver necklace and Tiffany & Co metal bangle. More shoes and jewellery are set to be auctioned in the coming weeks.
They were seized during the investigation into Hart, 46, of Illogan, who was jailed for four years after admitting 25 counts of theft and fraud.
The former secretary conned more than £300,000 from her bosses, PDP Green Consulting Ltd in Truro, using stolen chequebooks to fund her lavish lifestyle.
She fleeced company accounts to pay for a private jet to Paris, expensive cars, Premiership football tickets, rent and bills.
A spokesman from Devon and Cornwall Police's financial investigation unit at Truro said: "Confiscation of assets is part of the sentencing process.
"Helen Hart lived an affluent lifestyle which included buying expensive items for her personal use. She should not be allowed to benefit from the proceeds of her crimes and this process helps that be the case.
"We work hard to ensure that the proceeds of crime are taken from criminals. Legislation means in certain cases we can go back six years to calculate what a person has earned from their illegal lifestyle."
Since April last year the unit has confiscated more than £350,000 in Cornwall.
Other criminals have been forced to sell the family home, car, or investments, to satisfy a confiscation order or face prison, which still does not wipe out the payment requirement.
"We are proud that the confiscation amount either goes to the victim or, if there is no victim, then a proportion of the confiscation money goes back into the local community. We strive to ensure that crime does not pay."
