Fraud case valuer to appeal against sentence

The chartered surveyor jailed for seven years is to appeal against the length of his sentence.

Ian McGarry was convicted of taking part in a £50m mortgage fraud. He had overvalued properties in return for bribes, by up to 19 times their true value.

But his solicitor said his sentence is “manifestly excessive”.

Anil Rajani, partner at IBB Solicitors, said his client was “devastated” by its severity.

Rajani said: “Mr McGarry had pleaded guilty at the first reasonable opportunity, he had co-operated fully with the Serious Fraud Office investigators in providing them with assistance about the involvement of others, and had waited in excess of five years to be sentenced.

“The SFO has taken nearly four years to make a decision to charge Mr McGarry from the time of his first arrest in March 2006. We will be lodging an appeal against this manifestly excessive sentence.

“A large body of evidence was presented to the court from character witnesses, many of whom were professionals who spoke of the utter devastation of Mr McGarry’s personal and professional life.”

Serious Fraud Office director Richard Alderman said he was very pleased with the result: “The principal defendants have received hefty sentences, which reflect the seriousness of the offences.”

Three solicitors who had been on trial walked free when the jury could not reach agreement. Three others were cleared.