David Purdie, 57, of Lister Avenue, Dunston, Gateshead

The man at the centre of the fraud, he made sure his name was not associated with either company, yet was in the thick of it and enjoying its rewards.

His barrister Jonathan Lennon told the court that the businesses were legitimate to start with, but changed in 2006 when the housing market deteriorated.

"The defence note that it is not the prosecution case that the comparators wanted this outcome," he said. "This was not a fraud at the beginning.

"There was no intention when setting up these businesses for anyone to be deceived or any lender to be deceived. This was a business model that changed."

Divorced dad Purdie's name did not appear on a single mortgage application as an applicant - not even for the house he shared with then-wife Grace.

Prosecutor Jane Bewsey, QC, said: "In reality, he was the man in charge, overseeing every aspect of the businesses, both honest and dishonest, day to day.

"There is evidence to show that he, personally filled out mortgage forms containing false and misleading information . . . and forged signatures."

Michael Foster, 43, of The Meadows, Bournmoor, Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham, admitted conspiracy to defraud.

The ex-professional cricketer worked in the mortgage industry after his sporting career - including spells with Durham and Yorkshire - came to an end in 1999.

Purdie's right-hand man, he was a director of Newcastle Home Loans and a partner in North East Property Management, and also had his own mortgage business.

His role was largely finding suitable properties, but prosecutor Jane Bewsey, QC, said: "He was involved at the very highest level and in every aspect."

Foster later involved lots of family and friends as nominees, and had a total of 110 properties in the names of himself and his wife or jointly.

Nigel Sangster, QC, said: "This was not a dishonest scheme from the outset. It was a scheme that went wrong, and should have stopped long before it was.

"He has been devastated by what happened . . . he became bankrupt as a result . . . it is not only him, but many of his family and friends who were nominees.

"His main role was to source properties. He is a family man and trains children at rugby and cricket. It is going to be devastating for him and his family."

Linda Patterson, 57, of Maywood Close, Kenton, Newcastle, admitted conspiracy to defraud.

Described as "integral to the day-to-day operation", Patterson joined Newcastle Home Loans as a member of staff in 2005, and later became a director.

She had worked in finance from leaving school, and was a trained underwriter with many years working in the mortgage industry, the court was told.

It was Patterson - said to have also "done well financially out of the scheme" - who effectively authorised many of the bogus mortgage applications.

"Once on board, she embraced the scheme wholeheartedly," Jane Bewsey, QC, prosecuting told the court. "The scheme could not have worked without her."

Patterson built up a substantial property portfolio with 71 buy-to-let mortgages in her name, and a further 61 in the name of her husband, Ian.

Her barrister said she only learned of the fraud in 2007 when the Financial Services Authority started an investigation - but then she joined in.

She had previously worked for one of the lenders duped in the fraud, and had been put into the Tyneside offices of NHL to represent their interests.

Peter Wardle, 68, of Garden House, Witton-le-Wear, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, admitted furnishing false information.

In charge of accounting for both companies, Wardle had no formal qualifications but possessed a lifetime of experience working in bookkeeping.

It is suspected that he worked with Purdie in an earlier business venture, and was made company secretary of Newcastle Home Loans in November 2005.

He admitted after his arrest that the scheme was unsustainable and would inevitably collapse because the income from rent fell far short of mortgage payments.

The court heard that he acquired a substantial buy-to-let portfolio, with 24 mortgages taken out in his name, and seven in the name of his wife, Sandra.

Wardle tried to change his plea after first admitting the charge, but his bid was yesterday rejected by Judge Howard Crowson who did not believe his evidence.

He attempted to convince the court that he had not fully understood the charge to which he pleaded guilty last month, but the judge said: "He's an intelligent man."

He will be sentenced on November 30.

Steven Keay, 54, of Hopton Drive, Sunderland, admitted furnishing false information.

The surveyor gave inflated valuations on about 100 properties, after he got involved with Purdie and what was by then a fraudulent scheme in late-2007.

The court heard the divorced father-of-two completed his professional qualifications in 1988, was "highly-regarded" and set up his own business in 2005.

John Ryder, QC, mitigating, said his life spiralled downwards after his wife's affair, debts increased and he took the chance to make "ready money".

Keay had his home Hawksley Grange, in Sunderland, repossessed within a year, and since his arrest in 2010 he has been working as an odd-job man.

Mr Ryder said: "He would not have acted in this way but for the disruption to his life. The consequences to him have been truly ruinous.

"It was his decision and it was his fault. He blames no one. Prior, he lived as a modestly successful chartered surveyor and wanted nothing more.

"He lost a degree of self-respect, and became engaged in what was a downward spiral, and from that he has never recovered, and never entirely will."