A RESTAURANT boss went on a spending spree after fraudulently applying for six credit cards using personal details of his chef who could hardly speak a word of English.

Mohammed Sabar, 24, who ran the Empress of India take-away in Oldham with his brother, built up debts of more than £35,000 over a two-year period, Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court was told.

Rowena Goode, prosecuting, said that he used the cards to obtain goods and services, including not least to obtain a substantial amount of US dollars which he then converted into pounds. 

He also used the cards to buy two laptops computers worth more than £2,000.

She said he made use of personal details of his chef Miah Chuton to successfully apply for the credit cards, using an address that his employee knew nothing about.

A lengthy police investigation was launched after the victim was visited at his home in Lime Street, Oldham, by Sabar's brother. He showed him what were purported to be demands from the NatWest bank for unpaid credit card debts totalling more than £37,000.

Ms Goode said the chef who could hardly speak any English, had absolutely no knowledge of the debts, and was so worried that he later went to the police.

Officers arrested Sabar, and as well as proving that he obtained and used the cards fraudulently, they showed that the demands shown to Mr Chuton had been amateurish and bogus, riddled with mistakes and errors.

Later, while on bail for the fraud offences, Sabar tried to obtain more than £70 worth of goods from a store using a bogus cheque.

The court was told that he had previously been sentenced to an eight month term of on imprisonment after being convicted of having equipment used to produce false identity cards.

Jailing him for 19 nineteen months, His Honour Judge Lever told him: "You obtained £35,000 in goods and services, which is serious fraud.

"It is also serious because you used details of an employee to do so. You were using him to feather your own nest.

"You are by no means a man of good character, and you have evidently not learned your lesson."

Sabar, of Eric Street, Oldham, pleaded guilty to 13 thirteen offences involving fraudulently applications for the credit cards, and illegal use of them afterwards.