Mortgage fraudster ordered to hand over £65,000

Court: Al-Haidary was jailed for two and a half years for his part in the scheme.© STV

A fraudster who earned more than £2m from an elaborate mortgage scam has been ordered to hand over £65,600 in assets.

Faruk Al-Haidary, 47, is serving a two-and-a-half-year jail sentence after he pled guilty to swindling lending institutions out of more than £500,000.

He used fake driving licences, wage slips and P60 documents to create bogus IDs, then obtained mortgages in their names for properties in and around Glasgow which he, his family or his associates were selling.

Glasgow Sheriff Court was told Al-Haidary earned £2,175,142 from the scheme, with a loss of £587,964.70 to the lenders.

After his conviction the Crown Office applied for a confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The court was told that £65,600 was the maximum amount it could retrieve from Al-Haidary at the time, though the figure may rise if more information comes to light.

Lindsey Miller, head of the Serious and Oganised Crime Division (SOCD), said: "Faruk Al-Haidary was part of a sophisticated criminal enterprise using false documentation such as fraudulent driving licences and wage slips to obtain mortgages for a number of properties in the Glasgow area being sold by him or his associates.

"The number of mortgage frauds committed by the accused as part of this scheme make this a "lifestyle offence" under the Proceeds of Crime Act, therefore the Crown was able to look at all of Al-Haidary's income over the six years preceding his arrest.

We can also apply to the court to vary the amount of the order should further funds become available, and we intend to make full use of this power.

"Mortgage fraud and the subsequent laundering of the associated free proceeds is often seen by criminals as an easy way to make money.

"This case should act as a reminder that the Proceeds of Crime legislation is wide-ranging and by committing lifestyle offences under POCA, criminals throw open their entire financial dealings over six years to detailed investigation by forensic accountants, lawyers, and ultimately the court."

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