AN OXFORD man has been accused of 'grossly misrepresenting' his earnings in order to take out three separate mortgages.

Fredi Shima, of Mill Lane, Marston, denies two counts of obtaining a money transfer by deception and a further count of fraud.

As his trial began in Oxford Crown Court yesterday, the jury heard how the 44-year-old is alleged to have decieved the mortgage lenders Birmingham Midshires in order to obtain hundreds of thousands of pounds.

On the first occasion, he was able to borrow £140,250 to buy a house in Moorbank, Blackbird Leys, in 2006.

Oxford Mail:

The court heard how Shima has applied for a buy-to-let mortgage after claiming he was a hotel manager earning £17,000 a year and had £22,000 in additional income from a second job and a rental property.

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But a tax return from that year showed Shima was in fact an assistant manager at Burger King and duty manager at the Mitre pub and his earnings were said to be 'substantially less'.

Oxford Mail:

In late 2006, Shima applied for a further mortgage on a house in Kestrel Crescent, Oxford and borrowed £177,000.

And then, in 2009, he secured £131,250 to buy a house in Tucker Road, Oxford.

Oxford Mail:

The prosecution alleges that again, on both these occasions, he overstated his annual earnings by thousands of pounds.

The trial continues.