The director of a Wolverhampton letting agency who defrauded tenants and ordered his staff to make false claims has been jailed for more than two years.
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...
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