Jailed: Letting agency boss gave false evidence to withhold deposits and forged contracts

Investigations by Wolverhampton Council found Bhavander Singh Sanghera, from Walsall, was the owner of two properties on Penn Road – at 374 and 374a.

The properties had been let by Sanghera's company EBS Property Limited, trading as Martin & Co Wolverhampton, where he was also the sole director.

In December 2012 a tenant renting the property at 374 Penn Road discovered a physical connection between their electricity and gas meters and the supply to 374a.

Martin & Co falsely advised the tenant they were liable to pay for the neighbouring property's utilities under the guise they had already been given a discounted rate in rent.

A contract falsified with forged signatures and a letter were produced containing stipulations for the payment of the neighbouring property’s utilities, which could only have been sanctioned by Sanghera himself, a court heard.

Four years later, in November 2016, another tenant of 374 Penn Road had their £845 deposit wrongly withheld when a series of criticisms were added onto a check-out form – after the tenant's guarantor's signature was received.

A court heard how employees at Martin & Co were also ordered by Sanghera to add excessive mark-ups on maintenance costs issued to landlords in order for the franchise to meet monthly targets.

Sanghera, who also owned a maintenance company Genuine Interiors LTD, fabricated invoices for work which was not carried out, such as the removal of personal belongings.

Staff were also advised to get friends and family to post fabricated positive reviews of the business on Google and instructed to send out of date, misleading photographs of properties to the Deposit Protection Scheme (DPS) to provide false evidence for withholding tenants’ deposits.

Under the consumer protection from unfair trading offences, the court was told that during 2016, EBS Property Limited did not advise the tenant that the utilities of 374a were linked to the utility meters at 374 and that they would be paying for both utility bills, nor were they informed that the landlord of the property, Sanghera, was also the director of the letting agency.

Further offences related to the aggressive behaviour demonstrated by EBS Property Limited in issuing the tenants with an eviction notice in retaliation to complaints made by them to the council.

Sanghera, of Jesson Road in Walsall, was found guilty of three counts of fraud or fraudulent trading. He also pleaded guilty on behalf of his company, EBS Property Ltd, to four further charges under Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

Sanghera was sentenced to 28 months in jail for the fraud offences and is awaiting sentencing for the unfair trading offences. He was also disqualified from acting as a director for eight years.

Councillor Steve Evans, cabinet member for city environment and climate change, said: "The council takes consumer protection very seriously and will always act to prosecute those who look to commit fraud against our residents. People put their trust in agencies like the one run by Sanghera to find them a home. They should not have that trust broken by the type of unscrupulous behaviour this case has highlighted.

“Crimes of this sort have such a huge financial and emotional impact on their victims. Sanghera has shown a repeated pattern of fraudulent behaviour at the financial and emotional expense of both his tenants and his staff. I’m very pleased that justice has now been served in this case.”