A MERSEYSIDE solicitor has been jailed for his involvement in a £1.5m "advance fee" fraud.
According to evidence presented at Liverpool Crown Court, Sasson, of Childwall, made £250,000 from the fraud.
Sasson had been struck-off after admitting stealing from his employers.
His father-in-law got him a job with Carl Montlake and his business partner in 1993, working as an underwriter, and in 1997 Bury-based Alliance International Ventures was set up in 1997.
According to prosecutor Jonathan Turner QC, it was “a fraud from the outset�.
He added: “Its business was ostensibly to offer funding to foreign applicants looking to raise finance for business projects abroad.
“The truth is, and always was, that Alliance had no money at all. Notwithstanding their total lack of funds, Alliance began to offer overseas customers sums of anything between $500,000 and $120,000,000.�
The fraud involved getting applicants to pay a £495 administration fee and appraisal fees of up to £7,000. They also had to pay the appraiser’s expenses, including first-class tickets, expensive hotels and entertainment.
“Whatever the appraiser said about the project, Alliance was always going to extract the fees and then fail to provide a penny,� Mr Turner said.
Inquiries relating to one-third of applicants found that Alliance had offered to lend $1.5bn over a five-year period.
Sasson, 47, of Childwall Crescent, Childwall, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud. Montlake, 46, of Manchester, was convicted earlier this year and jailed for six years.
Sasson’s barrister, David Turner QC, said that the others had made sure he was “the fall guy�.
Judge Gerald Clifton, however, said that the business had been bogus from the outset.