Broker jailed for 5 years

Broker jailed for 5 years




A mortgage broker has received a 5 year jail sentence for his involvement in a multimillion pound mortgage fraud .

A mortgage broker has received a 5 year jail sentence for his involvement in a multimillion pound mortgage fraud.

According to the Thames Valley Police, law firm, Wilmett Solicitors, fell into liquidation in 2009 as a result of the mortgage fraud. The four men who worked together to obtain fraudulent mortgages from 12 unsuspecting lenders have just landed jail sentences.

Mark Entwistle, 47, of Kings Road, Windsor Jonathan Gilbert, 48, Meliden Road, Penarth,  Matthew Robinson, 42 King Street, Richmond and Nicholas Pomroy, 58, of Heath End Road, Tadley  have all been sentenced to a total of 34 years imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court on the 23rd July this year. This followed convictions of “various counts of conspiracy to defraud” after an extensive 26-week trial. Entwistle and Robinson were also convicted on counts of money laundering.

Matthew Robinson is understood to have acted as the mortgage broker, Pomroy acted as the accountant in the application process. 

The “wide-scale mortgage fraud” as stated by Thames Valley Police, targeted innocent homeowners, who had their properties were mortgages without their consent.

Reporting restrictions were previously imposed on the case, and were only lifted recently.

Defendants, Philip Barker, 47, West Park, Harrogate and Shon Williams, 48, Nightingale Close, East Grinstead were “acquitted by the jury of involvement in any conspiracy to defraud or commit corruption respectively.”

Evidence was heard in relation to 22 different counts of conspiracy to defraud, one count of conspiracy to commit corruption, and one count of conspiracy to launder criminal property.

The court heard that property developer and large portfolio owner, Entwistle, worked with Gilbert, who acted as the solicitor, to gain illegal mortgages and loans on a collection of sites and properties.

When mortgages and loans were granted, Gilbert did not notify the Land Registry of the legal charges. It was also found that they both agreed to “split land titles” in order to gain multiple loans on the same properties. It was heard in court that one house was remortgaged five times for over £8 million.

Jonathan Gilbert was the only convict out of the four that pleaded guilty at the beginning of the trial to “some counts”. 

Entwistle was sentenced to 14 years in jail, Gilbert landed 12 years, Robinson got five years, and Pomroy was sentenced to three years.

As the investigation started in July 2009, Thames Valley Police stated that this case was one of the “longest running investigations ever conducted” by the authority, which involved a team of specialist officers from the Economic Crime Unit.

Det Supt David Poole, Head of Thames Valley Police Specialist Operations Department, commented: “Fraud is not a victimless crime. Testimony was heard in court about the stress suffered by some whose homes have been sold from underneath them, those who lost life savings and investments, and those who lost jobs. 

“The 34 years imprisonment imposed on the four men convicted highlights the serious nature of this criminality and will be a deterrent to anyone else considering committing fraud.

“This is a great success for Thames Valley Police after a long and complex investigation. I would like to thank the Specialist Fraud Division of the Crown Prosecution Service for their support in this difficult case”

Leave a comment