Wife of finance boss sued for blowing £160k on prostitutes left 'relying on food banks' after court fight

The wife of a finance boss sued for fraud by his former bosses and jailed after spending £160,000 of company money on high-end prostitutes has been left destitute and reliant on food banks following his six-year court fight.

Dad-of-two Mohammed Asif Khan, 48, was accused of "stealing" a total of around £1.1m of company money while working for North of England Coachworks, the north east's biggest vehicle bodyshop.

The company said "self-styled director of finance" Mr Khan had splashed about £160,000 of the missing cash on payments to escorts - including £56,000 to £1,000-an-hour call girl, Gemma Massey, who was once Britain's "best paid porn star."

In 2024, he agreed to hand the company a £500,000 payout in order to settle the civil claim against him, accepting that he owes the money "in respect of the frauds and fraudulent breaches of trust as alleged against him in this action."

But the company is still fighting to be paid what it is due, with Mr Khan's wife, Louise, 47, dragged into the case, amid allegations that money might have been diverted to her by her husband.

The case reached court again this week, when Mrs Khan's lawyers revealed the devastating impact on her life and finances, arising from her husband's case.

Jobless and in a "a state of acute financial difficulty," her barrister Gordon Menzies told a judge that the mum had been left "having to rely on food banks" due to the fallout.

During the civil court trial of the fraud case in 2024, the court heard Mr Khan, of Newcastle, worked for North of England Coachworks until 2019 in a financial and managerial role.

But when serious irregularities with cheque payments and money transfers were noticed, he was quizzed and resigned, the firm's barrister Sam Neaman said.

He said investigations revealed that Mr Khan had been using company cheques and transfers to pay for things that were not for the company's benefit.

The net loss to the company was about £1.1m, he claimed, with an estimated £160,000 of that going to named women, including about £56,000 to Miss Massey and her company alone.

"It is not just names, you will see an awful lot of information from the internet which establishes what these ladies did for a profession," he said. "She is obviously one of many."

The court previously heard that Miss Massey - a former dental nurse and beautician - was "self-described as a high class escort" on a web page put forward as part of the case and later described as a "prostitute" by Lord Justice Coulson during another hearing.

Miss Massey, an ex of TOWIE star Kirk Norcross, is an Only Fans model and once boasted on the BBC of being the UK's highest paid porn queen.

Defending the claim against him, the married dad admitted his "shame" after using company money to pay escorts but insisted that he did not do anything his employers did not approve of.

Following several days of the trial, Mr Khan agreed that judgment be entered against him "in respect of the frauds and fraudulent breaches of trust" in the sum of £500,000 in favour of the company.

However, the marathon battle has returned to court on several occasions since, as the company continues to fight to recover the money it is due.

That included Mr Khan being jailed for six months for contempt of court, having pawned a £20,000 Rolex which he was prohibited from dealing with under a freezing injunction, with the money then going into his wife's business.

This week, it was Mrs Khan at the centre of the row, with lawyers for North of England Coachworks applying for an order against her, allowing the company to investigate what sums of money might have been funnelled into her accounts by her husband.

"We’re seeking information as to what assets are held from Mr Khan," said the company's barrister, Emma Read, telling the court that £23,000 transferred into her accounts was already subject to a freezing order.

"I seek information as to what other assets she holds that are bound by the injunction. We are seeking an order that the second defendant tells us what assets she holds.

"We are seeking to know from the second defendant what assets she holds."

Giving judgment, Senior Master Jeremy Cook refused to make the "information order," quizzing why the company had not further investigated her husband's accounts to see if he had passed money to her.

“Your allegation is that Mr Khan has been passing funds to Mrs Khan from his accounts or diverting money from his employers’ through his accounts into hers," he put to Ms Read.

"But what have you done to obtain Mr Khan’s accounts? Why is there no application against Mr Khan?

"You have not taken the very basic step of going through his bank statements and demonstrating that there was more than the £23,000 which Mrs Khan has already said ‘yes that was paid to me'.

"She accepts that money was bound by the injunction, what more do you want? You have to persuade me there’s an arguable case that she has more."

At the end of the hearing, Master Cook declined the application, saying he had "no jurisdiction to make the order" against Mrs Khan herself.

He said it was Mr Khan's accounts which the company would have to investigate first before deciding on how to enforce the debt.

Mrs Khan's barrister, Gordon Menzies, asked the judge to order North of England Coachworks to pay her lawyers' bills for the hearing, pointing out that in the aftermath of her husband's court battle she is now unemployed, in "a state of acute financial difficulty" and "having to rely on food banks."

Master Cook ordered the company to foot the bill for the hearing.