A vicious imposter who pretended to be a wealthy businessman earning more than £170,000 a year, managed to live in an expensive flat in Ascot rent-free for 16 months, a court has heard.

Cheekily the serial fraudster sued his trusting landlady for £50,000 for harassment when she finally tried to get him evicted. The claim plunged the woman deep into debt making her life a "living hell."

A judge jailed 58-year-old Permjit Sagoo for nine years on Thursday, October 3, after hearing of his fraudulent tenancy secured when he showed the landlady paperwork which backed up his salary claim.

When Sagoo failed to pay the rent his landlady took legal steps to have him evicted. Sagoo then made a £50,000 counterclaim for harassment - driving 60-year-old Zohreh Majidian into debt as she battled to get the fraudster out of her property.

Sagoo, who the judge described as a relentless serial fraudster, was also being sentenced for impersonating real business owners under the name Paul Singh, to secure finance agreements on expensive cars - including a Porsche, a BMW, and a Land Rover - which cost up to £140,000.

The judge sitting at Reading Crown Court heard that the fraud would only be discovered after the real company directors, whose identity had been used, received demands for payment for cars they never agreed to purchase.

Judge Emma Nott, sentencing Sagoo, told the defendant: "It was pure greed and lack of empathy that drove you.

"The way you lived in Ms Majidian's flat without paying for it, was eye-opening and your malicious counter-claim of harassment when she took proper steps to remove you from her property, was particularly vicious.

"It reflects your lack of scruples.

"Your actions also affected the real Paul Singhs whose identity you slipped on like a glove, causing financial loss and administrative headaches to these successful businessmen - but it also took an emotional toll on each of them."

The judge told the court how one of the businessmen was even detained by police whilst on holiday in Turkey on suspicion of being wanted for a crime.

"He was being held in respect of your own criminality", the judge told Sagoo.

The fraudster was being sentenced today/yesterday (Thu) for numerous scams he carried out between 2017 and 2024 - but his criminal activities date back to the early 2000s, the court heard.

In August 2022, Sagoo approached Osborne Heath estate agents in Ascot inquiring about a flat on Charters Road.

Sagoo claimed he was a director of a real company, South Parade Properties Ltd, and said he earned an annual income of £177,800 - which he proved by providing payslips that turned out to be fake.

The fraudster then drove to meet Ms Majidian, the owner of the flat, in a Porsche and dressed as a businessman, telling her he was going through a divorce and wanted to rent a flat in Ascot so he could stay close to his son.

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Ms Majidian, a 60-year-old retired travel agent, read out a victim impact statement to the court in which she explained how she believed Sagoo's presentation as a "wealthy and genuine person" before he put her through a living nightmare.

"In October 2022, due to the Covid pandemic, I had to shut down my travel agency - so the rent I would get from the flat was vital to my livelihood", she told the court.

"When I did not receive my December rent, I contacted the estate agent who told me Singh was having difficulty with his company and had not yet been paid.

"By the middle of January 2023, I started to believe I was being defrauded."

It took Ms Majidian 16 months and seven court hearings at a cost of £20,000 in legal fees to finally get Sagoo out of her flat - but by that time he had driven her into debt, which in turn led her to lose her home.

"This affected all areas of my life", she told the court.

"Singh took away the control I had over my life. He has broken me physically, mentally, and emotionally and he has destroyed my faith in people."

The court heard how Ms Majidian eventually won her county court case against Sagoo, who was ordered to pay her the £36,000 in unpaid rent that he owed her.

However, Sagoo has not yet made any payment and the judge told the court it was "unlikely" Ms Majidian would ever get her money back as it appears Sagoo had no funds.

The court also heard of a company director's shock and anxiety at being asked to pay for expensive cars they never agreed to purchase and realising that they had been the victim of identity theft.

Sagoo would use their company name to secure finance agreements for expensive cars which he would collect and drive around until they were recovered.

Prosecutor Kate Hare told the judge: "The real directors of those companies all describe their shock - and particularly at how relentless Mr Sagoo's fraudulent activity was."

Judge Nott sentenced Sagoo, of no fixed abode, to nine years and two months imprisonment for numerous counts of fraud by false representation.

She also ordered him to pay Ms Majidian £20,000 in compensation.

"If you have any money, I don't see why Ms Majidian should suffer the £20,000 loss that she suffered to get you out of her property and to deal with your malicious harassment claim," the judge told Sagoo.

Turning to the victim at the end of the hearing, Judge Nott said: "Even though I doubt you will ever see this money, I want to give you every chance."

Sagoo will serve half of his sentence before he can be released on licence.