TWO former salesmen, who concocted a scheme to obtain hundreds of thousands of pounds through fraudulent mortgages, have been jailed.

Ejaz Ul Hassan and Nadeem Ghani produced false wage slips to enable Ul Hassan to purchase four houses worth a total of £425,000, Bradford Crown Court was told yesterday.

The court heard Ul Hassan, 33, of Dewhurst Road, Fartown, had met Ghani, 30, of Bradford, while working as salesmen for a glazing firm.

Ul Hassan had wanted to become a landlord but had been unable to obtain mortgages.

The court heard that in 2007 Ul Hassan and Ghani, who had just qualified as a mortgage adviser, produced false wage slips to obtain mortgages on three houses in Huddersfield and one in Halifax.

Ghani, who was working as a mortgage broker, made all four mortgage applications, in the names of Ul Hassan and his sister, Shaista Afzal, to two building societies.

Pakistani-born Ul Hassan had denied wrongdoing but was last month found guilty of conspiring to acquire criminal property.

Defending dad-of-two Ul Hassan, counsel Peter Higginson said his client had been a victim of economic circumstances and had been “borrowing from Peter to pay Paul”.

Judge Robert Bartfield jailed Ul Hassan for two years.

He jailed Ghani, who had admitted the fraud and had given evidence against Ul Hassan and Afzal, to nine months in prison.

Defending dad-of-one Ghani, counsel Abdul Iqbal said there had been little, if any, loss to the lenders and that Ghani has gained little from submitting the false applications.

Passing sentence Judge Bartfield said: “Building societies are entitled to be told the truth...

“The amounts are very substantial and this was persistent and well thought out in that you produced very convincing documentation which understandably deceived the building societies concerned.

“The fraud has been described as unsophisticated but I do not agree. It was a fraud of some sophistication.”

Mum-of-three Afzal, 35, of Hollin Terrace, Marsh, was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud last month.

She was yesterday given a nine-month suspended sentence.