Shooting victim facing jail over mortgage fraud

A PROPERTY developer who was shot in the back outside a city gym is facing jail after admitting he carried out £145,000 in mortgage frauds to buy flats in the Capital.

Robert Kelbie pleaded guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday and is now set to have assets seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The 28-year-old, who lives in Buccleuch Street, used the cash to renovate a pair of flats and sell them on for a profit.

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The court heard that Kelbie exploited the ease in obtaining the loans from sub-prime brands associated with major lenders prior to the credit crunch.

Kelbie received a loan of £85,465 for a flat in Millar Crescent, Morningside, in October 2005 from the Kensington Mortgage Company in Reading, and £60,000 from The Mortgage Business (TMB), a subsidiary of Halifax Bank of Scotland in Leeds, in September 2007, for a flat in Brougham Street, Tollcross.

Kelbie admitted providing false personal income details, declaring he was earning £28,000 or £26,000 a year, to obtain the money.

He is due to be sentenced on June 11, when he will also face a hearing on assets identified for seizure.

His sister, Emma Jean Young, 23, also faced charges of mortgage fraud, but her not guilty plea was accepted.

Kelbie was shot in the back in the car park of Bannatyne’s Health Club, Newcraighall, on October 20, 2010.

The ex-boxer managed to drive himself to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, but discharged himself hours later.

Kelbie’s shooting was followed days later by an assault on a man at a yard in Portobello, which was said to have been a revenge attack.

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Kelbie is listed as a director of city building firm Edin Developments.

A police spokesman said: “The investigation into the attempted murder of a 27-year-old man outside a fitness club remains open. To date, no-one has been prosecuted.”