The prosecution say Mohammed Azam Yaqoob, known locally as ‘Mr Sparkles’, got his brother Mohammed Mahmood Yaqoob to apply for a mortgage to pay for his home on Huddersfield Road.
But Mahmood Yaqoob lied about his modest earnings to get the £274,350 loan from the Bank of Scotland in December 2002.
Jurors at Leeds Crown Court heard that in May 2004 Mahmood Yaqoob lied again about his earnings when he applied for a £399,951 remortgage to fund renovations on his brother’s home.
He told the Birmingham Midshires Building Society he earned £134,000 a year which was not true.
And again in March 2007 he applied for a £500,000 remortgage with Abbey, claiming he earned £123,500 a year – around three times his true salary.
Prosecutor Graham Reeds said Mahmood Yaqoob applied for a self-certification mortgage on each occasion because only the most basic checks would be carried out and he knew he could lie with little comeback.
He said the legal title of the house was in Mahmood Yaqoob’s name but Azam Yaqoob treated it as though it were his property. He said: “Even though Mahmood appeared to be the one meeting the repayments from his account, it was in fact Azam who financed the mortgage by making payments to Mahmood.”
He said that in one application Mahmood Yaqoob listed his address as the Mirfield home and his status as owner and occupier.
But Mr Reeds said: “Mahmood never occupied that house – not at the time of the application, not now, not ever.”
He said the jury would hear evidence the house really belonged to Azam Yaqoob and by using money fraudulently obtained by his brother to buy and renovate it, he was guilty of money laundering.
He said all but one of the planning applications for the house were made in Azam Yaqoob’s name.
It was Azam Yaqoob who sat with legal advisors during a planning enforcement appeal while his brother sat in the public gallery.
And it was Azam Yaqoob who told Kirklees planning enforcement officer Paul Wood that “this mortgage is costing me a fortune.”
The court also heard allegations that the brothers benefited from a fraudulent claim against Oldham-based engineering insurance firm HSB. The fraud was carried out by two Dewsbury men, who paid Azam Yaqoob £115,000.
Mr Reeds said: “He knew it was the proceeds of crime but he took it anyway.”
Azam Yaqoob, 40, of North Road, Ravensthorpe denies one charge of fraud and one of money laundering.
He also denies three charges of theft from HSBC and one charge of money laundering relating to the HSB fraud.
Mahmood Yaqoob, 35, of Sackville Street, Ravensthorpe, denies three charges of fraud. He also denies one charge of acquiring criminal property relating to a £800 payment from his brother following the HSB fraud.
