A fraudster has escaped jail after a £750,000 mortgage scam.

Paul Casey, 43, of Sunderland, had obtained eight mortgages over a period of four years – two in relation to his own home and the rest on mortgages for properties he bought to let out through his business.

He admitted all eight fraud charges.

Casey had lied about his earnings, claiming these were up to £95,000 a year, even though at one time he was declaring earnings as little as £6,217 to HMRC.

At Newcastle Crown Court, Recorder Nicholas Lumley said he had shown a cavalier attitude towards his tenants, whose homes were put at risk.

The Recorder said that they were “different days” when Casey made his fraudulent applications, when “those wanting to obtain a mortgage could fill in the blanks on the forms with abandon”.

Casey received a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years, with 300 hours of unpaid work and £1,668 costs.

Although some of the properties are in negative equity and one has been sold, prosecutors believe that the homes would raise around £300,000 if sold. There will be a Proceeds of Crime hearing.