Thursday, November 05, 2009
And all Mr Dunning could say was "Everything between Redcar and Cleveland council and Persimmon is fine"?
After bringing this ongoing story to the attention of George Dunning all he could say was "Everything between Redcar and Cleveland council and Persimmon is fine"? Would you spend millions of pounds of public money on behalf of a builder who had been involved in such a scandal?
November 03, 2009
DARTFORD, KENT; WALTHAMSTOW, FOREST GATE, E LONDON; ILFORD, SOUTH OCKENDON, ESSEX; PINNER, MIDDX.
A broker accused of helping to run a £19m sub-prime mortgage con claimed today (Tue) he was also ‘deceived’ by the set-up.Businessman Brad Fisher, 44, helped swindle millions in an elaborate scam in which construction giant Persimmon Homes played an ‘instrumental’ role, it is claimed.
A broker accused of helping to run a £19m sub-prime mortgage con claimed today (Tue) he was also ‘deceived’ by the set-up.
Businessman Brad Fisher, 44, helped swindle millions in an elaborate scam in which construction giant Persimmon Homes played an ‘instrumental’ role, it is claimed.
Alim Barry, the alleged mastermind of the scam, fled the country with most of the cash and has not been seen since.
Barry and his cousin Mohammed Barrie made huge profits when they bought an entire block of flats from Persimmon at a knock-down price before selling on the individual properties, it is alleged.
Prosecutors say the fraudsters created dozens of fake financial histories for their ‘buyers’ so their mortgage applications would be approved.
Fisher, who owns and runs mortgage broker firm The Money Superstore, or TMS, allegedly submitted vastly inflated valuations for the flats to High Street banks.
He duped the lenders into handing over far more than the properties were worth to borrowers who had no hope of repaying the money, it is said.
The crooks then pocketed the profits - estimated at £3.5m.
But Fisher denied any complicity in the illegal activity, claiming he was ‘deceived.'
Fisher had a meeting with Barry to a business deal involving mortgages for Persimmon Homes, the court heard.
Prosecutor Richard Mandel asked: ‘So is the position that your discussion with Alim Barry left you with the impression that you would be dealing with clients who were buying property from Persimmon Homes?’
‘That was the impression I was given,’ Fisher replied.
‘I now know that it was not the position.’
The court has heard Alim Barry’s shell company Atrex bought the 84 flats from Persimmon for £15.25m and sold them for £18.75m - a profit of £3.5m.
Barry then employed his cousin to recruit ‘dupes’ from within the Sierra Leonean community to act as mortgage applicants for the flats in Thamesmead, South East London.
It is claimed he and others promised the ‘buyers’ that they could get a luxury flat without paying any deposit, presenting them with detailed prospectuses to persuade them to sign up.
One applicant was even recruited as he queued for groceries in the supermarket, it is said.25 of these ‘dupes’ were sent to Fisher to fill in bogus mortgage applications, it is claimed.
Mr Mandel asked: ‘As far as the impression you received was the impression you were meant to be receiving, you were deceived?’ Fisher answered: ‘That’s correct.’
All mortgage payments for the flats were made by Barry and members of his family, the jury was told. ‘He never told me that,' said Fisher.
‘If I discovered he deceived me about that I would have notified the appropriate authorities and stopped working with him.’
The prosecutor said: ‘In fact you knew exactly what the picture was, didn’t you? All along?’ ‘No, I didn’t. No’, the broker denied.‘I never knew the real seller was Alim Barry.’
Fisher never knew the claims he submitted were false, he told the jury.
He said: ‘I have never willingly or knowingly submitted any false documents or any false income references to any lender at any time.’
Shaun Hammond, defending, asked: ‘Have you ever knowingly submitted anything false to a lender?’
Fisher replied: ‘Never in my entire professional career have I knowingly or willingly provided any false documents to any lender or professional institution.
‘I never had any flats repossessed or houses repossessed from any customers or any blemishes against me from the FSA or any complaints or anything.’
Accountant Stuart Joseph, 43, has admitted inventing financial references for fraudulent mortgage applicants, the court heard.
But Fisher again denied knowing the financial references were false.
Alongside Fisher in the dock are Mohammed, 39, and Muctaru Barrie, 29, mortgage valuers Brad Fisher, 44, George Sourou, 43, and Sofiya Ahmed, 28, accountant Dean Dairo, 48, and solicitor Okwuchukwu Izuchukwu.
Mr Mandel told the court that staff at Persimmon were ‘instrumental’ in creating inflated valuations for the flats so that mortgage lenders would part with more cash.
Mohammed Barrie, of (78) Pinewood Ave, Dartford, Kent; Izuchukwu, of (139) Earlham Grove, Forest Gate, East London; Ahmed, of (153) Howard Road, Walthamstow, East London; Dairo, of (20) Eastern Ave, South Ockendon, Essex; Fisher, of (33) Tiptree Crescent, Ilford, Essex; and Sourou, of (21) The Crescent, Ilford, Essex deny conspiracy to defraud mortgage lenders.
Muctaru Barrie, also of (78) Pinewood Place, Mohammed Barrie and Izuchukwu deny conspiracy to launder criminal property.
Joseph, of (4) Furham Field, Pinner, Middlesex, has admitted seven specimen charges of false accounting.
The trial continues
ENDS
November 03, 2009
DARTFORD, KENT; WALTHAMSTOW, FOREST GATE, E LONDON; ILFORD, SOUTH OCKENDON, ESSEX; PINNER, MIDDX.
A broker accused of helping to run a £19m sub-prime mortgage con claimed today (Tue) he was also ‘deceived’ by the set-up.Businessman Brad Fisher, 44, helped swindle millions in an elaborate scam in which construction giant Persimmon Homes played an ‘instrumental’ role, it is claimed.
A broker accused of helping to run a £19m sub-prime mortgage con claimed today (Tue) he was also ‘deceived’ by the set-up.
Businessman Brad Fisher, 44, helped swindle millions in an elaborate scam in which construction giant Persimmon Homes played an ‘instrumental’ role, it is claimed.
Alim Barry, the alleged mastermind of the scam, fled the country with most of the cash and has not been seen since.
Barry and his cousin Mohammed Barrie made huge profits when they bought an entire block of flats from Persimmon at a knock-down price before selling on the individual properties, it is alleged.
Prosecutors say the fraudsters created dozens of fake financial histories for their ‘buyers’ so their mortgage applications would be approved.
Fisher, who owns and runs mortgage broker firm The Money Superstore, or TMS, allegedly submitted vastly inflated valuations for the flats to High Street banks.
He duped the lenders into handing over far more than the properties were worth to borrowers who had no hope of repaying the money, it is said.
The crooks then pocketed the profits - estimated at £3.5m.
But Fisher denied any complicity in the illegal activity, claiming he was ‘deceived.'
Fisher had a meeting with Barry to a business deal involving mortgages for Persimmon Homes, the court heard.
Prosecutor Richard Mandel asked: ‘So is the position that your discussion with Alim Barry left you with the impression that you would be dealing with clients who were buying property from Persimmon Homes?’
‘That was the impression I was given,’ Fisher replied.
‘I now know that it was not the position.’
The court has heard Alim Barry’s shell company Atrex bought the 84 flats from Persimmon for £15.25m and sold them for £18.75m - a profit of £3.5m.
Barry then employed his cousin to recruit ‘dupes’ from within the Sierra Leonean community to act as mortgage applicants for the flats in Thamesmead, South East London.
It is claimed he and others promised the ‘buyers’ that they could get a luxury flat without paying any deposit, presenting them with detailed prospectuses to persuade them to sign up.
One applicant was even recruited as he queued for groceries in the supermarket, it is said.25 of these ‘dupes’ were sent to Fisher to fill in bogus mortgage applications, it is claimed.
Mr Mandel asked: ‘As far as the impression you received was the impression you were meant to be receiving, you were deceived?’ Fisher answered: ‘That’s correct.’
All mortgage payments for the flats were made by Barry and members of his family, the jury was told. ‘He never told me that,' said Fisher.
‘If I discovered he deceived me about that I would have notified the appropriate authorities and stopped working with him.’
The prosecutor said: ‘In fact you knew exactly what the picture was, didn’t you? All along?’ ‘No, I didn’t. No’, the broker denied.‘I never knew the real seller was Alim Barry.’
Fisher never knew the claims he submitted were false, he told the jury.
He said: ‘I have never willingly or knowingly submitted any false documents or any false income references to any lender at any time.’
Shaun Hammond, defending, asked: ‘Have you ever knowingly submitted anything false to a lender?’
Fisher replied: ‘Never in my entire professional career have I knowingly or willingly provided any false documents to any lender or professional institution.
‘I never had any flats repossessed or houses repossessed from any customers or any blemishes against me from the FSA or any complaints or anything.’
Accountant Stuart Joseph, 43, has admitted inventing financial references for fraudulent mortgage applicants, the court heard.
But Fisher again denied knowing the financial references were false.
Alongside Fisher in the dock are Mohammed, 39, and Muctaru Barrie, 29, mortgage valuers Brad Fisher, 44, George Sourou, 43, and Sofiya Ahmed, 28, accountant Dean Dairo, 48, and solicitor Okwuchukwu Izuchukwu.
Mr Mandel told the court that staff at Persimmon were ‘instrumental’ in creating inflated valuations for the flats so that mortgage lenders would part with more cash.
Mohammed Barrie, of (78) Pinewood Ave, Dartford, Kent; Izuchukwu, of (139) Earlham Grove, Forest Gate, East London; Ahmed, of (153) Howard Road, Walthamstow, East London; Dairo, of (20) Eastern Ave, South Ockendon, Essex; Fisher, of (33) Tiptree Crescent, Ilford, Essex; and Sourou, of (21) The Crescent, Ilford, Essex deny conspiracy to defraud mortgage lenders.
Muctaru Barrie, also of (78) Pinewood Place, Mohammed Barrie and Izuchukwu deny conspiracy to launder criminal property.
Joseph, of (4) Furham Field, Pinner, Middlesex, has admitted seven specimen charges of false accounting.
The trial continues
ENDS
// posted by Chris McGlade @ 12:21 PM 
