The 40-year-old, who had worked for the university in a variety of positions for 14 years, was employed as a research business manager in the School of Cancer and Enabling Sciences at the time of the fraud.

BBC: University of Manchester manager jailed for fraud

"Lenders will use a two-year average to derive self-employed income, " says Karen Mayfield, national mortgage sales manager at Bank of the West.

WSJ: Qualifying for a Mortgage Is Harder for the Self-Employed

Louis Cardinals manager a couple of years ago asking him when he employed the tactic and what the benefits were.

WSJ: Yankees' lineup has pitcher batting eighth