A mother and son landlords who used violence, vandalism and theft to illegally evict their tenants during a decade of abuse have been jailed for more than nine years at Canterbury Crown Court.
The pair, who a converted hotel in Margate, which contained 26 individual flats.
Sohila, 66, and Pedram Tamiz, 47, ordered masked gangs to threaten and attack their tenants as well as smash their homes and change their locks.
They carried out their abuse between 2011 and 2021 on 10 victims who lived at the premises. Tenants were routinely threatened and evicted without notice, had their locks changed and had their belongings removed or thrown out onto the street. Other tenants had locks removed and families were forced to live in cold, dark conditions after having their power cut off. One victim, Carl Hopkins, had a balaclava-clad gang burst through his door, douse him in petrol and knock three teeth out.
The trial was held at Canterbury Crown Court, in what is believed to be the largest prosecution of its kind.
Prosecutor Michael Polak said Sohila had conspired to damage a toilet and acted ‘in a menacing manner, demanding tenants leave’. Sohila had also taken a key from another tenant, Hayley Griffiths, and sabotaged her electricity supply.
Judge Rupert Lowe called the mother and son, of Lenham, Kent, as ‘cruel and manipulative landlords with no humanity’ and without ‘a scintilla of remorse’.
Sohila was given five years jail after being convicted on 14 counts including conspiracy to interfere with the peace and comfort of the residential occupier, conspiracy to unlawfully evict and conspiracy to burgle.
Her son Pedram received four years and two months after being convicted on seven counts including conspiracy to interfere with the peace and comfort of the residential occupier and conspiracy to unlawfully evict.
The Tamiz family ran an overseas trust which was set up in 2003 to avoid paying UK tax
Two associates, Adam McChesney, 40, and Kasem El Darrat, 53, also denied but were convicted of conspiracy to unlawfully evict. However, they were spared jail as Judge Lowe said they played lesser roles in the landlords’ criminality.
McChesney, of Margate, was given 20 months suspended for two years and 250 hours unpaid work. He was convicted on five counts including conspiracy to interfere with the peace or comfort of the residential occupier but was acquitted of conspiracy to burgle.
El Darrat, also of Margate, received a 12-month community order with 150 hours unpaid work and 15 probation activity requirement days. He was convicted of conspiracy to interfere with the peace and comfort of the residential occupier and conspiracy to unlawfully evict. After details of his involvement emerged in the trial, the father-of-three lost his job as a mechanic and now relies on Universal Credit.
Judge Lowe also ordered compensation worth £30,500 to be paid to the victims and £200,000 in costs to go to Thanet District Council, which brought the case. McChesney will pay a far smaller proportion while El Darrat is exempt due to having insufficient means.
