Yorkshire Conman Jailed Over Fake Sheikh Scam

12 April 2012, 13:32 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

A Pudsey man, who was part of a group trying to con a finance company out of £1.5 million, has been jailed.

Mortgage broker 38 year old Jonathan Flynn, was found guilty of fraud and jailed for four-and-a-half years and banned from being a director of a company for seven years.

The judge said Flynn, of Woodhall Lane, Stanningley in Pudsey, West Yorks, played an important part in the fraud.

The conmen used two fake sheikhs to pose as wealthy Arab brothers Malthoum and Said Mebjar and “hijacked” a £6 million London property to secure the loan.

But Andrew Bloom, managing director of Masthaven, became suspicious and called in police.

A sting operation was arranged with undercover officers at a West End hotel.

The fraudsters were arrested when two men arrived dressed as sheikhs, the court heard.

“Both dressed in Arab gear and were posing as the Mebjars,” said Jonathan Kinnear QC, prosecuting.

He said the sheikhs, who did not exist, were put forward to guarantee the loan with an expensive property.

The flat, which was on sale, was hijacked using paperwork from the Land Registry in 2010.