Madasser Hussain

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

The Respondent, a solicitor admitted in 2002, was convicted at Newcastle Crown Court on 23 January 2019 of dishonestly making a false representation to make gain and of perverting the course of public justice, and sentenced to imprisonment. Between 2007/2008 she and her husband created false documentation to register a fraudulent £60,000 legal charge (plus interest) on a property owned by others without their knowledge, and from 2014-2016 acted to pervert the course of justice by refusing to remove the charge and maintaining it was legitimate. The conduct caused approximately £145,000 in losses to the owners. She admitted all allegations, including dishonesty. Dealt with on the papers by way of agreed outcome. The Tribunal found no exceptional circumstances and struck her off the Roll, ordering costs of £1,150.

Duties found breached:

• Act in the client's best interests
• Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank

Aggravating factors:

• Dishonest conduct sustained over a lengthy period of time
• Conviction for very serious criminal offences (fraud and perverting the course of justice)
• Sophisticated fraud involving significant planning
• Conduct intended to benefit the Respondent and her husband
• Involved a more junior former colleague to register the charge
• Serious harm caused to property owners (approximately £145,000)

Mitigating factors:

• Otherwise unblemished record; isolated/historic incident
• Acted under family pressure with clouded judgment
• Charitable work promoting interfaith relations
• Served custodial sentence and complied with licence conditions
• Found gainful employment serving the community during the pandemic
• Expressed remorse and apology