A FORMER married couple have been sentenced for frauds and a theft totalling almost £50,000.

Gholam Sefy conned a vulnerable man out of £38,000 and, with then-partner Jamileh Sobhani, defrauded Cherwell District Council and a number of banks.

The pair, of Kingsway Drive, Kidlington, were convicted by jurors last month of seven counts between them.

Sefy, 44, was convicted of theft of £38,550 from Nathan Brown, attempting to acquire criminal property of £37,050, obtaining a £4,651 money transfer by deception, one benefit fraud and three counts of credit card fraud.

Sobhani, 46, was convicted of the same offences, except the theft. The crimes were committed between January 2005 and October 2007.

Sentencing them at Oxford Crown Court on Friday, Judge Patrick Eccles said: “You, Sefy, took advantage of a vulnerable man who was in a state of emotional chaos as a result of the death of a parent.

“It involved a significant betrayal of confidence that Nathan Brown had placed in you at the time.”

Judge Eccles said Sobhani played “a more active role” in the benefit fraud, in which the pair told Cherwell District Council she was a tenant in their house, which they, in fact, both owned.

When the pair, originally from Iran, split and Sobhani moved to Canada, they told banks their credit cards had been used without authorisation to claim back payments totalling almost £5,000 from security guard Sefy to his ex-partner Sobhani.

The court heard Sobhani, who is studying for a degree at Brighton University, is currently paying back the money to Cherwell District Council at a rate of £10 a week.

Mr Brown, who was conned out of almost £40,000, eventually recovered the money after his building society became suspicious.

Sefy was jailed for 18 months.

Sobhani was given a 12-month prison term, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 180 hours’ unpaid work.

A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing is set to take place in August.