A man posed as a dentist and carried out a series of "painful" treatments to fund a luxury lifestyle.

Iranian national Omid Amidi-Mazaheri, 41, of East Dulwich, south-east London, admitted five counts of obtaining money by deception, at Southwark Crown Court.

His partner, qualified dentist Mogjan Azari, from Beckenham, admitted four similar offences.

Amidi-Mazaheri was remanded in custody until sentencing on 3 March. Azari was bailed until the same date.

The fraud started when Azari allowed Amidi-Mazaheri, a former laboratory technician, to carry out dental procedures on some of her unsuspecting patients.

Joint operation

He then set up his own practice and hijacked a dead dentist's identity to increase his profits.

Amidi-Mazaheri also created bogus appointments to generate more income.

The pair are thought to have made about £100,000 between April 2002 and January last year.

They were caught after a 14-month joint operation by Scotland Yard's Economic Crime Unit and the NHS Dental Fraud Team.