Former rugby star and brother guilty of buy-to-let mortgage frauds

A former rugby star and his brother have been described as ‘vultures’ after being found guilty of taking part in a series of buy-to-let mortgage frauds.

Ex-Hull Kingston Rovers star Alfie Goulbourne and his DJ brother Darren took part in a conspiracy which saw houses in Hull being bought cheaply and then sold on the same day for much higher prices.

In one case, a pre-war terrace house west Hull, was bought for £20,000 and re-mortgaged on the same day with a loan based on a purported value of £91,000.

Ex-Hull Kingston Rovers star Alfie Goulbourne (pictured left) and his DJ brother Darren (right) took part in a conspiracy which saw houses in Hull being bought cheaply and then sold on the same day for much higher prices

During a ten-week trial Hull Crown Court heard a building society which provided the loans was not made aware of the original purchase prices in any of the mortgage applications.

The prosecution claimed the mortgage deals were were deliberately aimed at hiding the relatively low sale values.

The Goulbournes, along with Darren’s partner Julie Crane, had denied joint charges of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.

However, the jury found them guilty on ten charges. Family members in the public gallery gasped as the verdicts were announced.

The Goulbournes, along with Darren’s partner Julie Crane (pictured) denied the charges

Darren Goulbourne and Crane were cleared on a separate conspiracy charge  involving another lender.

All three elected not to give any evidence in their defence during the trial.

Solicitor Christopher Jones was found guilty on nine charges on conspiracy to commit fraud but was cleared on a charge relating to the property.

Another solicitor, Katie Baxter, was found not guilty on four charges of conspiracy and the jury was dismissed after being unable to reach a majority decision on a further six charges against her.

Solicitor Katie Baxter (pictured) was found not guilty on four charges of conspiracy and the jury was dismissed after being unable to reach a majority decision on a further six charges against her

A sixth defendant, Andrew Wormstone, pleaded guilty to three charges before the trial started.

At the opening of the trial, prosecution barrister Guy Gozem QC described the defendants as ‘vultures’ who had exploited the relatively cheap purchase price of the properties.

He said: ‘It is the prosecution’s case that the truth about these bargain prices was kept hidden from the lenders because if they had known about it they would not have lent on the same basis.

‘It that sense, a bargain price was an inconvenient truth for these defendants. They needed to find a way of hiding the prices from the lenders.’

Mr Gozem said two other people – Edward and Victoria Wray – had also been charged with conspiracy to commit fraud as part of the police investigation but were now in Australia.

Solicitor Christopher Jones (pictured) was found guilty on nine charges on conspiracy to commit fraud but was cleared on a charge relating to the property

‘Had they been here, there is no doubt they would be in the dock,’ he said. The convicted defendants were all given unconditional bail for the preparation of pre-sentence reports.

Judge David Tremberg told them his decision to grant unconditional bail did not mean he was not considering the possibility of custodial sentences.

‘All options are open. I am not tying myself to anything at the moment, ‘ he said.

Sentencing in the case is not expected before the week starting April 23.

The judge also gave the prosecution 14 days to consider its options over the six charges still facing Baxter which the jury could not make a decision on.

Thanking the seven woman and five men on the jury, he said none of them would be required to do jury service again because of the exceptional length of the trial.

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