A Stanmore law student and two other men plotted a £1 million fraud to cash in life assurance policies behind the backs of investors, whose life savings they stole, a court heard on Thursday last week.

Dilawar Ravjani, 21, of Felbridge Avenue; Nilesh Sanghani, 39, of Walfield Avenue, Whetstone, and Mohammed Faiz, 42, of Lancashire, stole nearly £250,000 from Lincoln Assurance and United Friendly Life Assurance before they were caught. Ravjani and Sanghani denied the allegations, but Fiaz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud.

Prosecutor Howard Vagg told Southwark Crown Court that Sanghani stole microfiche records of genuine policyholders while employed by both companies.

The fraudsters then told the companies of alleged changes of address -- to one of their own -- which they would follow with requests to cash in the policies.

Genuine policyholders would know nothing about what had happened until years later when they asked to redeem their policies only to discover they had been cashed behind their backs.

The scam was discovered only when an employee of Lincoln Assurance spotted that microfiche records were missing and began calling the customers.

Sanghani and Ravjani, who pleaded not guilty, were convicted of charges of conspiracy to defraud during 1996 and early 1997. Fiaz had previously pleaded guilty. Sanghani and Ravjani were remanded in custody until March 19, when they will be sentenced alongside Fiaz.

Judge Jeffrey Rucker instructed the jury to acquit a fourth man, Farooq Ahmed, 48, of Manchester, for lack of evidence.

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