A fraudulent businessman who conned students and the government out of £16m was jailed today for seven years.
Michael Smallman, 45, of Leeming Lane, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, was the owner of the biggest learning provider in the UK - Middlesbrough’s National Distance Learning College (NDLC).
He lured tens of thousands of students to enrol on courses that would not lead to a recognised qualification.
Smallman used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle of racehorses and gambling, Teesside Crown Court heard.
His wife Angela, 41, also of Leeming Lane, was found guilty of money laundering and sentenced to 15 months.
Two other defendants, company directors Peter Kenyon, 43, of Roseberry Road, Great Ayton, North Yorkshire and John Hornsby, 59, of East Close, Sadberge, Darlington, in County Durham, were cleared of fraudulent trading.
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