Trio acquitted in fraudulent loan case
THREE defendants connected to a £49m mortgage fraud have been acquitted.
Hardeep Sodhi, formerly of Birmingham-based Patwa Solicitors, Simon Lawrence, formerly of Darlingtons Solicitors in London, and Mark Knights of Mace & Jones in Manchester, were found not guilty by a jury, reports PropertyWeek.com.
The three defendants had been charged with conspiracy to obtain a money transfer by deception and containing a money transfer by deception.
The jury could not reach a decision in respect of three other defendants involved with the case: Fatema Patwa of Patwa Solicitors, Laurence Ferrigan, formerly of the London-based CFB Partnership, and Kamran Malik of A&H Solicitors in Birmingham.
The trial revolves around the allegedly fraudulent obtaining of loans from banks and building societies.
The Serious Fraud office, which brought the case, alleges the defendants secured mortgages though “grossly inflated prices, fraudulent valuations and forged leases”.
Former Dunlop Haywards valuer Ian McGarry and Birmingham-based property developer Saghir Afzal had both previously pleaded guilty to their involvement in the fraud and will be sentenced June 13.
The Serious Fraud Office has until that hearing to decide whether or not to ask for a retrial of Patwa, Ferrigan and Malik.
