Apprentice flop faces jail on fraud - The Sun

APPRENTICE flop Chris Farrell faces jail in the New Year after admitting to a string of frauds.

The ex-Royal Marine fired by Lord Sugar for not being ruthless enough faked mortgage applications in his job before going on the hit BBC show.

Farrell, 29, who worked as a mortgage broker for two years, was desperate to obtain loans for clients so he could meet his monthly 5,000 target and pocket a bonus.

But he was inflating their salaries and even inventing jobs as he submitted their applications to banks and building societies.

The Sun revealed how Farrell was arrested in August just before the latest Apprentice series started. He got the boot in week eight.

He appeared today before JPs in Plymouth, Devon, and admitted four counts of fraud by falsifying pay slips and P60s.

Three similar charges were asked to be taken into consideration.

Prosecutor David Gittins said: "Mr Farrell obtained mortgages for clients fraudulently by falsifying their incomes.

"Although it is important to note that he did so without their knowledge to ensure lenders granted mortgages and thus ensuring he reached his monthly target."

Mr Gittins added that Farrell only stood to make between 200 and 300 from the scam.

Farrell, from The Wirral, Merseyside, had been working for Mortgages4Plymouth since November 2007 after leaving the Royal Marines.

But he turned to crime as he struggled to support his wife and seven-year-old step-daughter on his "modest" 1,600-a-month salary.

Defending, Tracey Baker said Farrell felt "pressured" into it as he tried to make ends meet.

Recorder Terry Bray told Farrell he would be sentenced at the Crown Court due to the "stress" placed on his victims and the nature of the fraud.

Farrell, who now works as a private contractor providing security for naval ships in war-zones, will be sentenced at Plymouth Crown Court on January 28.

Farrell already had a criminal record when he signed up for The Apprentice.

He was given a conditional discharge for possessing offensive weapons an extendable baton and a knuckleduster found by cops in his Mercedes car after a domestic bust-up with his wife.

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