An accountant who is embroiled in a £1 million ($1.2m) fraud case has admitted to spending £68,000 ($88,000) on sex with a woman who once claimed to be Britain's highest paid porn star.
Mohammed Asif Khan, from Newcastle, has been accused of defrauding the company he worked for, spending a huge amount of the money on paying escort Gemma Massey - who advertises as charging £1,000-an-hour.
According to court documents, the father-of-two, who is being sued by his former employers, North of England Coachworks Ltd, has admitted to paying Ms Massey, 36, for sex.
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However, Mr Khan, 42, has strenuously denied allegations of fraud and claimed the money he spent was either 'perks of the job' or used to repay the more than £800,000 ($1m) loans he claims he made the company.
His shocking revelations came during a hearing at the High Court, which saw him admit to presenting misleading statement as part of the case.
Mr Khan is accused of using credit cards, cheques and money transfers to relieve his former employer of funds to benefit himself and his family.
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£70,000 ($90,000) of that money was allegedly used to pay four separate women, including 50 payments being made to Ms Massey.
Despite claiming the money paid to the women was legitimate, Mr Khan admitted he covered up the spending in order to protect his marriage.
Presiding over the case, High Court judge Mr Justice Griffiths said that Ms Massey's website states she is a 'high class escort', charging £600 for 30 minutes or £1,000 for an hour.
He said: "The four women are admitted to be prostitutes, to whom payments are to be regarded as for Mr Khan's own benefit.
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"His motive for the false entries was to deflect attention from the fact that the payments were made to prostitutes."
The judge did say that Mr Khan was clearly apologetic and regretful of his decisions that had 'shocked' his wife, however.
He said: "He [Mr Khan] has expressed sincere remorse, which I accept. His wife's statement says he is devastated. It has crushed him mentally and the guilt lives with him every day."
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Mr Khan told the court he had 'accepted his mistakes' and will learn from them.
He admitted he was misleading in his statements that payments were not for his 'personal benefit', though denied he had committed fraud.
The judge spared Mr Khan prison and handed him a 10-week suspended sentence. He will return court at a later date in the ongoing fraud case.
Featured Image Credit: Champion NewsTopics: Money, crime, Fraud, court