Fraud by son unable to work

A Black Country fraudster used his father's pay cheques to secure £10,000 of car credit before faking a bank letter to obtain a £17,000 business loan.

Davinder Singh Johal was suffering from an illness which meant he was unable to work, but he still wanted to keep occupied, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

Judge John Wait told Johal: "I am satisfied that it was a compulsion to find something to do that drove you to forge documents in the pursuit of a car and business loans."

Johal, of Trafalgar Road, Tividale, committed five offences between May 2007 and February 2008. He admitted the charges at a previous hearing.

Judge Wait gave him a 12 month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months. He must complete 150 hours of unpaid work and will be electronically tagged to ensure he is home between 7.30pm and 6am.

John Attwood, prosecuting, said Johal used his father's pay slips to persuade Approved Car Finance to lend him £10,000 to buy a Ford Focus and to pay for insurance. Johal later returned the car saying he was not unsatisfied.

The 32-year-old then enlisted help from a friend to secure a £17,000 business loan from the Black Country Reinvestment Society. He claimed he was going to set up a franchise, before producing a bogus letter from Nationwide bank which claimed that he had £11,000 in his bank account to support his plans.

Once the money had been transferred, Johal withdrew the cash and stashed it in his wardrobe.

Johal also attempted to obtain a second business loan from the Black Country Enterprise Loan Fund, but was unsuccessful. The court heard he claimed to have a franchise to supply vending machines to the Punch Taverns and said he needed extra funds to expand the business. Mr Attwood said Johal provided two forged documents in support.