Magistrate escapes jail for £360k mortgage fraud

A former magistrate found guilty of a £360,000 mortgage fraud has been spared a jail sentence after a judge ruled her behaviour “wholly uncharacteristic”.

Shanaz Hussain, from Burnley in East Lancashire, was found guilty of seven counts of fraud, after forging her ex-husband's signature on property documents during their divorce, according to the Lancashire Telegraph.

However, Judge Christopher Cornwall said he was satisfied she had acted out of character in order to secure her matrimoniol home, owing to the end of her 20-year marriage and "acrimonious" divorce proceedings.

Described as a "pillar of the community" and a former co-director of the Lincoln Group of Companies, Hussain was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and 300 hours of community service.

Passing sentence, Judge Cornwall said: "Having achieved so much you find yourself having fallen to the ground from a great height."

He said that it was not in the public interest to send her to jail.

Defending QC, Peter Birkett, told the court that the loss of his client's reputation served as a "huge punishment" for Hussain.