A Virgin Atlantic pilot jailed for 14 years for masterminding a £30m mortgage fraud has been ordered to repay just £1
Mark Entwistle, 48, recruited solicitors and accountants to approve scores of his bogus loan applications and used the money to fund gambling binges online and in Las Vegas. He was ordered to repay only £1 as prosecutors failed to find any assets.
From a defence point of view, it would be interesting to see how his solicitors tackled the crucial issue of honesty and what – if any - options they had when it came to sentence mitigation on his behalf.
Entwistle and solicitor Jonathan Gilbert, 46, defrauded RBS and Northern Rock out of more than £6m. Bank employees were also involved in the fraud, as were accountant Nicholas Pomroy, 59, and solicitor Matthew Robinson, 41.
Robinson was jailed for five years and ordered to repay more than £850,000.Gilbert was jailed for 12 years but will not face confiscation proceedings while Pomroy was jailed for three years.
Read the article 'Payback Time'.
