Family mortgage fraud funded brother’s ‘palace’
Siblings of crimelord guilty of massive and complex housing scam
TWO brothers and a sister-inlaw of a Birmingham crimelord who built his own “Buckingham Palace” in Pakistan are facing jail after being convicted of conspiracy to defraud in a massive housing mortgage scam.
Mohammed Suleman Khan was jailed for four years for a huge tax evasion and later ordered to repay £2.2 million to the taxman or face another ten years in jail.
Police investigating the financial affairs of the elusive and reclusive criminal known as “The General” discovered his empire was a family business.
Detectives discovered his two brothers and sister-in-law were involved in a huge multimillion pound mortgage fraud.
Now they are set for a family reunion behind bars after a dedicated police team brought them and two co-accused to justice, the same team who brought down Suleman Khan.
His brothers Shahalam Khan, of Station Road, Kings Heath, and Shokut Zuman, of Selly Oak Road, Bournville, were convicted of conspiracy to defraud, as was Zuman’s wife Samiah Hanna, of Arley Road, Selly Oak.
Co-accused and friend of the brothers Arshid Khan, of Banks Road, Small Heath, and crooked broker Mohammed Mughal, of Chester Road, Bournville, were also both convicted of conspiracy to defraud.
Mughal was found guilty of two additional counts of fraud by declaring untrue income details to gain mortgages.
Shahalam Khan was also convicted of benefit fraud after falsely claiming around £72,500 between 2002 to 2009. Zuman, and private tutor Samiah Hanna, were each acquitted of benefit fraud charges.
Judge Peter Carr adjourned sentence for the mortgage fraudsters to October 22, with all the defendants given conditional bail.
Det Insp Andy Bannister was head of the Regional Assets Recovery Team (RART) that had investigated the gang after successfully prosecuting Suleman Khan.
He said: “This was a sophisticated fraud that took advantage of the buoyant housing market.
“They obtained fraudulent mortgages which afforded them the opportunity to obtain and develop a significant property portfolio that they would not have had, had they made genuine declarations.
“They exploited frailties in mortgage application systems don’t exist today.”
Birmingham Crown Court heard how the gang had used forged documents to falsify their income details to obtain mortgages on 21 properties the that in the Bournville, Selly Oak and Moseley areas of the city between 2003 and 2010.
The houses were renovated to a high standard and then let out mainly to students.
The scam allowed the gang to earn huge amounts in rent as their property portfolio grew in size and value.
But the beginning of the end came when police arrested Suleman Khan in 2010. He was later jailed in 2013. While looking at his complex financial affairs, detectives discovered his three relatives owned many properties but had no obvious signs of income.
They had used forged documents at a time when the housing market was booming and mortgages were easier to obtain from financial institu- tions. Once properties were bought they were often transferred between the gang members for no payment.
Most of the defendants gave no comment police interviews and they later cynically tried to blame a respected broker for falsifying the documents - but only named him to police after he had died of a heart attack. The increasingly desperate gang also made allegations they had been unfairly targeted by police because of the family links to Suleman Khan, a claim that was seen through by the jury.
Police are now looking at a proceeds of crime case to seize assets of the fraudsters, who thought they could cheat the system.