Two mortgage criminals who obtained almost £4 million worth of mortgages from high street banks were sentenced to a lengthy prison sentence, The Northern Echo reports.

Jason Omar, 41, and Angelique Huggett, 45, were presented with a total sentence of four-and-a-half years’ imprisonment after their trial at Teesside Crown Court.

Between 2007 and 2008, the fraudsters purchased 39 properties with the help of a large number of fraudulent mortgages.

The court heard how both prospective landlords used a variety of techniques in order to obtain inflated and unrepresentative mortgages.

They often overstated the price of the properties which they were buying, meaning that they were able to obtain mortgages at 110 per cent LTV in some instances.

They also grossly exaggerated their incomes in order to sidestep affordability checks.

Steven Myers, speaking on behalf of the prosecution, told the court: “Omar’s income was stated as being £110,000 per annum from his limousine business or as a property developer. In fact, his income never rose much above £10,000.

“Hugget’s income was stated as being either £36,000 or £48,000 per annum from Princess Limousines. She, in fact, had no legitimate income beyond tax credits, and £15,000 from the rental of property in 2008.”

The pair’s fraud was only uncovered after Hugget was imprisoned in May 2012 as part of a conspiracy to supply £1 million of cocaine along with a number of former lovers.

However, she will serve no additional time as the fraudster’s new sentence is set to run concurrently with her drug conviction.

While Hugget admitted that she had engaged in a conspiracy to defraud the high street lenders, Omar was only found guilty in March following a lengthy trial.

It was, however, argued in court that Omar was responsible for picking properties to buy, before renovating them and acting as a landlord, rather than for masterminding a complex fraud.

The court heard how the former property developer had kept up repayments on the mortgages lent to him and how he had not actually caused the banks a financial loss.

Adrian Dent, who mitigated for Omar, told the court: “He put a great deal of his own money into this business. He lost at least £50,000 of his own money.

“There is no pot of gold waiting for him at the end of this. He faces a tax bill of £8,000 to £9,000 and bills from the renovation of the properties.”

B&C previously reported how a mortgage broker – Paul Bradwell – who was unwittingly caught up in the £4 million scam was cleared of any wrongdoing earlier this month.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Howard Crowson said: “I do accept that this is a case where you intended no loss, but you did run the risk of a great loss which was not your risk to run.

“Had they [the banks] been aware the sums would not have been advanced.”