NALS welcomes prison sentences for three rogue letting agents

The National Approved Lettings Scheme has taken the unusual step of commenting on, and welcoming, the outcome of a court case which gave prison sentences to three rogue letting agents.

The men, who ran an agency in north London using the trading name Crestons, left at least 19 victims around £105,000 out of pocket. The case has been widely reported on Letting Agent Today and in the mainstream media.

Mohammed Rayn Mashuk and Mohammed Ibrahim Ali were convicted under section 993 of the Companies Act 2006 of one count each of carrying on business for a fraudulent purpose, as officers of Sirs Associates Ltd, trading as Crestons. Ahmed Ali Syed was convicted under section 993 of the Companies Act 2006 of one count of carrying on business for a fraudulent purpose, as an officer of Sirs London Ltd trading as Crestons.

Each man was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment and disqualified from acting as a director of a company for a period of eight years.

Now Isobel Thomson, chief executive of NALS, says: "NALS welcomes the outcome of this case which demonstrates that agents who commit crimes will be prosecuted. 

“NALS will continue to work with Islington Council to ensure that consumers are protected and we stop these criminal agents from tarnishing the reputation of the sector as a whole.

"Thanks to the work of Trading Standards the defendants in the case have been given a custodial jail sentence. It is only through the courts imposing severe sentences such as these that anyone tempted to behave in this way will be deterred”.