First of its kind conviction after man jailed for submitting false documents to High Court

A man has been jailed for six years after submitting fraudulent documents to the High Court, in the first conviction of its kind in the UK

Shahrooz Ghassemian, 47, of no fixed address, submitted a number of fraudulent payment schedules and false court orders to The Royal Courts of Justice in London and the Court Funds Office in Scotland in an attempt to get money paid into three separate bank accounts in the name of his mother, after her property was sold as the result of a court order.

The largest amount of money he attempted to claim was £340,248.21 and the smallest was £278,357.72.

As part of this conviction, Ghassemian was found to have fraudulently obtained an order in the High Court which allowed him and his mother to unlawfully regain the property and consequently evict the rightful owner. 

Ghassemian and his mother, who has since died, had previously lost various civil court cases against the court ordered sale of the property and attempts to be reinstated to the property were unsuccessful.

Detective Constable Julian Bell from City of London Police said:

“This is the first conviction in the UK for an offence relating to fraudulent documents being submitted to the High Court, and involved a number of High Court judges giving evidence in the case.

“Ghassemian knew he and his mother had no legal standing with the property but tried to deceive the courts into handing over the money from the court ordered sale and to unlawfully regain the property. His actions were determined attempts to deceive the High Court.”

“This sentence sends a strong message that this kind of activity is a serious crime and those who falsify documents will be held to account and brought to justice.”

Between September 2017 and July 2018, Ghassemian provided enforcement agents with documents which appeared to be a genuine writ of possession and genuine writ of restitution of a property in Chatsworth Court, Pembroke Road, London. He did so by making deceptive applications to the Queen’s Bench Division of the Royal Courts of Justice.

Ghassemian later, between December 2017 and April 2018, falsified a document purporting to be from a High Court judge that said the £340,000 proceeds from the sale of his mother’s former property should be paid out to her.

After he was already facing charges for falsifying documents, Ghassemian then went on to submit more false documents to the courts for the purposes of his trial.

Ghassemian, who refused to attend his trial at Isleworth Crown Court whilst on remand in prison, was found guilty on May 27, 2021, of three counts of carrying out acts tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice. He was jailed for six years.

In relation of the eviction of the rightful owner of the property, the property has now been restored to the owner, and Ghassemian was also convicted in relation to this.

His Honour Judge Edmunds QC also imposed an indefinite restraining order, preventing Ghassemian from contacting the legal owner of his mother’s former property and members of the new owner’s family.

DC Bell is to be commended for his work on the case after the judge remarked that he had responded with the greatest professionalism and worked tirelessly to bring Ghassemian before the court.