‘Brutal’ woman who enslaved victims in Corby ordered to pay them thousands in compensation from her criminal profits
A woman who forced people to work in Corby factories then took all their wages for herself has been ordered to pay them compensation from the money she made.
Lithuanians Lyda Petraviciute and Laisvydas Urbaitis left one of their victims suicidal, and another homeless and penniless.
Another was brought here with her two children who were seen by town centre CCTV operators scavenging in bins, leading to the human trafficking operation being exposed.
A jaw-dropping three-month trial back in 2022 laid bare the horrifying actions of the couple, who exploited vulnerable victims, brought them to Corby and forced them to work.
They took all their money and threatened them with violence if they told anyone. The court heard Petraviciute ‘changed her cars like socks’ and was lived a life of relative luxury while others went out and earned money for her in the town’s factories.
Her Honour Judge Rebecca Crane described Petraviciute as ‘brutal’.
The pair were eventually sentenced to spend nine years in prison after being found guilty of human trafficking crimes against four victims – but it was suspected there were many more victims after the ID of 32 separate people was found at one several houses they were renting across the town.
On Thursday (August 7) Petraviciute, formerly of Bonnington Walk, was back before a court for Proceeds of Crime Act hearing, more than two years after she was sentenced and six years after the first complaint was made to police.
Appearing via videolink from HMP Peterborough, wearing a pink t-shirt and with freshly-painted pink nails, the 44-year-old spoke through an interpreter.
Proceeds of Crime Act hearings are designed to confiscate money that defendants make from their crimes. A thorough financial investigation takes place to establish what assets can be included in the order.
Petraviciute’s benefit from her crimes was assessed at £50,221.53. Of that, the only asset that could be recovered was £21,037.57 deposited in a bank account that was frozen at the time of her arrest.
At Thursday’s hearing, Judge Crane ordered that £10,000 of that would be awarded to a woman who she brought to Corby by minibus, took her passport, kept her and her two children in a single room in an HMO and made her work for pennies, leaving her completely destitute.
She also awarded £5,000 to a second male victim. The remainder will go back into the criminal justice system.
The money must be paid within a month or Petraviciute will face a further six months in prison on top of her current sentence.