The Surrey-based couple, 43 year old Permjit Sagoo, known as Peter, and his wife Arneep Sagoo, 41, have been accused of several counts of money laundering and one count of mortgage fraud, as well as transferring and receiving criminal property.

The court has been told that the couple lived a life of luxury, owning a £1.2 million home in an affluent area of Surrey, buying top-of-the-range cars including a Bentley and a Porsche, and sent their children to a private school.

It was at this private school that Mr Sagoo targeted other wealthy parents, claiming that he was a property developer who owned over 60 houses, and encouraging them to invest in worthless deals.

One angry investor, Ian Boyle, handed over £160,000 to Mr Sagoo for a business venture, which was never repaid.

Another investor, Nigel Knowles, said in a statement that the phony property developer took him to the Surrey home of England footballer, Shaun Wright-Phillips, bragging that he had built it.

In 2005, Mr Knowles invested in a Surrey property with the couple’s company, Harper Group. He put £45,000 into the deal, later topping this up with a further £52,000.

However, the promised return never materialised, leaving Mr Sagoo giving a string of excuses. Eventually he paid Mr Knowles £102,000 in 2006. 

Mr Sagoo has also admitted to mortgage fraud, duping Kensington Mortgage Company into giving him a £751,540 mortgage after he told them he was an IT consultant earning a salary of £180,000.

His wife has denied a similar charge of telling the mortgage lender that she earned £95,000 a year on the same mortgage application.

The trial continues.