A man has been sentenced to almost six years in prison after informing police of his own mortgage fraud.
After defrauding a mortgage lender and property company out of £1.25 million, Abid Hussain reported to police that one of his properties had been sold for £480,000 without his permission.
Following an investigation by the Metropolitan Police, however, it was later discovered that the property had been sold by Hussain himself, with the funds received from the company who had purchased the premises.
The police had been told by Hussain that he had also received over £770,000 from an alleged re-mortgage on an additional property he owned.
Despite his name being on the account, Hussain denied that he had made the mortgage application and stated that the account where property proceeds had been paid did not belong to him.
However, CCTV evidence suggested otherwise, showing Hussain entering a solicitors in central London and proving that he had made the re-mortgage application himself.
CCTV also indicated that Hussain had used a portion of the money to buy 15kg of gold bullion.
Leading the investigation was Richard Kirk. The Detective constable from the Metropolitan Police’s Complex Fraud Squad stated: “A swift investigation has ensured that Hussain will now have time to reflect on what he has done in prison.
“Evidence showed that Hussain had meticulously planned these frauds for some time. We are pleased to see he has received a custodial sentence that reflects the seriousness of his offences.”
When he had initially contacted police, Hussain had provided a false witness statement, reporting that the transactions had in fact been fraudulent. After buying the gold bullion, Hussain travelled to Pakistan.
Further enquiries are being made into the whereabouts of the gold and the reasons why Hussain purchased it.
Hussain was convicted earlier this month of two counts of fraud, one count of money laundering, and another for attempting to pervert the course of justice.
