A man who defrauded a property company and a mortgage lender out of more than £1.25 million has been jailed, the Financial Reporter has revealed.
The conviction follows an investigation by the Metropolitan police’s FALCON Unit, part of the Complex Fraud Squad.
Southwark Crown Court heard how Abid Hussain contacted police in May 2016 stating that he had been a victim of fraud and reported that a property he owned in North Acton had been sold without his knowledge or permission for £480,000.
However, it emerged that Mr Hussain himself had sold the house through a property purchasing company and received the funds from the sale. The property company was not involved in the scam.
He also informed police that more than £770,000 had been paid into his current account that appeared to be from the remortgage of another property he owned.
He denied making the remortgage application and alleged that the account the monies was paid into did not belong to him.
The FALCON unit later discovered that around £438,000 was used to purchase 15kg of gold bullion. This was confirmed by CCTV footage of the transaction.
CCTV also captured Mr Hussain entering the offices of a central London solicitors to complete the remortgage application.
Prosecutors alleged that, by reporting the transactions as fraudulent, Mr Hussain aimed to them void but not before withdrawing a significant sum of money.
Mr Hussain was sentenced to five years and nine months’ imprisonment. The gold bullion is yet to be located.
Detective Constable Richard Kirk of the Met’s Complex Fraud Squad, who led the investigation, said: “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.”
Carter Lemon Camerons LLP solicitors is a City law firm which provides legal services with a personal touch covering the full range of litigation issues, including property fraud. For more information about our services, please contact Francesca Flood or telephone: 020 7406 1000.
