Two Jailed After Money-Laundering And Mortgage Scam

Two men involved in a money laundering investigation have been jailed. 

He claimed on the mortgage application forms that he was the manager of a company selling hygiene products earning a six figure salary. However inquiries with the Inland Revenue identified that between 2006 and 2010 his income barely rose above £13,000 to £14,000. 

Mark Lloyd (born 02/06/1976),of Hackleton Court, Ancoats pleaded guilty to seven counts of furnishing false information in relation to property purchases worth £528,248 at an earlier hearing. 

John Charles Johnson (born 06/04/1987) of Manor Road, Bramhall, Stockport, pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering to the value of £500,000 and one count of furnishing false information at an earlier hearing. 

On 10 January 2012, Lloyd was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison and Johnson to two-and-a-half years in prison. 

In July 2009, Greater Manchester Police's Money Laundering Unit conducted an investigation in relation to the two men after £500,000 in cash was discovered. 

As the investigation progressed, it was identified that since August 2005, on seven separate occasions Lloyd had lied to mortgage companies regarding his earnings in order to purchase properties. 

He claimed on the mortgage application forms that he was the manager of a company selling hygiene products earning a six figure salary.

However inquiries with the Inland Revenue identified that between 2006 and 2010 his income barely rose above £13,000 to £14,000. 

When the director of the company was interviewed, he revealed that Lloyd was a delivery driver and the wage slips that Lloyd had been using with the company logo were false. 

It was also identified that Johnson had followed the same deception to secure a mortgage and then re-mortgage the same property. In April 2006 he claimed he was a chef earning £24,000 a year and in June 2008, stated he worked for the same hygiene company as Lloyd, earning up to £30,000. 

Again, inquiries with the Inland Revenue revealed these were totally bogus and the director of the hygiene company had never heard of him. 

Detective Sergeant Neal Colburn said: "After recovering half-a-million pounds in cash, our investigations discovered that over a three year period, this pair were able to fraudulently obtain more than £700,000 from mortgage companies. 

"This was organised crime and Greater Manchester Police will use all the powers available to disrupt this sort of criminality."