Apprentice star sentenced

Contestant found guilty of fraud...

10:56 02 February 2011

A contestant from the BBC One show The Apprentice has been given a suspended jail sentence for fraud.

Chris Farrell, who appeared on the latest series of the programme, pleaded guilty to four charges of fraud and was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

Mortgage broker Farrell admitted inflating clientsÂ’ incomes to help them secure loans and earn himself commission.

The former Royal Marine of Upton, Wirral, was also sentenced to 200 hours of community service.

Twenty-nine-year-old Farrell was fired in week eight of the series, which sees Lord Sugar trying to find an apprentice.

He was arrested in August 2010 after one bank discovered a fraudulent application.

The court heard that Farrell made three mortgage applications and one re-mortgage application, totalling £750,000, on behalf of clients who were not aware what he was doing.

The court also heard that he tried to blame colleagues, before admitting his guilt to magistrates at Plymouth Crown Court.