A conman who defrauded Barking and Dagenham Council out of more than �46,000 was jailed for five years and eight months today for fraud on a “vast scale”.

David Peters, 30, has been linked to at least 128 different identities, which he used to defraud banks, mortgage lenders and government agencies.

He used driving licences to obtain a mortgage for a flat worth �157,495 in Eldridge Court, St Marks Place, Dagenham, and got a similar deal for a property in Edgware.

Deed pole.

Peters, of De Havilland Road, Edgware, also stole �46,385 in benefits when Peters gave a false name, false details of employment and a bogus employer to Barking and Dagenham Council.

The fraudster, who was also named as Oluseyi Jeremiah Adebayo on court documents, was caught last year following a tip-off by the DVLA and DWP. He successfully applied for 74 UK driving licences under false names at rural post offices across the country, using a checking system where the cashier certifies the documents as genuine. Peters also applied for a change of name via deed pole to get his hands on genuine licences.

It emerged he had been deported seven years ago under one alias, but was allowed back in to the UK within six months after creating a new identity.

Judge Gerald Gordon QC said a question mark still remained over Peters’ true identity.

He received a total of five years for the 30 offences he admitted plus a further eight months after the judge activated a suspended sentence imposed on September 23 last year for possession of articles for use in fraud.