Six more years for car tests fraudster

Roobik Mirzabegi, 53, was originally jailed for four years in January last year after being convicted of conspiracy to defraud and concealing the proceeds of criminal conduct, following an investigation by City and Holbeck CID in Leeds which found that he was awarding thousands of fraudulent MoT certificates to unsuspecting motorists over 13 years.

A separate investigation found he had profited from his crimes to a total of 1,136,000, and at Bradford Crown Court last September he was ordered to pay this sum in confiscation within six months or face six more years in prison.

Mirzabegi, of Old Lane, Beeston, Leeds, has only paid back 23,000 of the money so far and as a result he was handed the additional six-year sentence at Leeds Magistrates' Court.

Because interest of 244 per day was charged on the outstanding sum once the six months elapsed, Mirzabegi now owes just over 1,143,000 – more than he was found to have made from his crimes in the first place.

This interest is suspended while he is serving his sentence.

If he has not paid the full sum on his release from prison, officers can seize any future assets he acquires as part of efforts to recover the money.

His wife Julie Mirzabegi, 52, who received a two-year jail sentence for her involvement in the fraud, was also ordered to pay back 375,000 she was found to have profited from her crimes.

She has since paid back more than 379,000 after missing the deadline for the original amount, but still owes 54 in interest.