Wahid Nazari

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

The Respondent, a solicitor at Carpenters Limited, was convicted at Lewes Crown Court on 15 February 2019 of three counts of using a disabled Blue Badge (issued to a family member, Person A, for whom he was carer) with intent to deceive, contrary to s.115(1) Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, being fined £1,500 and ordered to pay £6,000 costs. He used the badge on nine occasions over an eight-week period to park near work while Person A was not in the vehicle, on one occasion removing the badge when officials approached. The SRA alleged breaches of Principles 2 and 6, with dishonesty as an aggravating feature. The Tribunal relied on the conviction as conclusive proof, found breaches of both Principles proved, and found dishonesty proved applying Ivey. Although he initially admitted dishonesty in his Answer, he resiled at hearing. The Tribunal found no exceptional circumstances (per Sharma and James) to depart from the usual strike-off for dishonesty, citing repeated offending and limited insight. He was struck off and ordered to pay costs reduced to £1,000 due to limited means. His appeal to the High Court was dismissed.

Duties found breached:

• Integrity
• No conflict between current clients

Aggravating factors:

• Dishonesty
• Offences were deliberate, calculated and continued over an eight-week period
• Concealment was integral to the offending (removed Blue Badge when officials approached)
• Repeated conduct on nine occasions
• Ought to have known he was in breach of professional obligations

Mitigating factors:

• Self-reported to the SRA and cooperated fully
• Made early admissions (though later resiled from some)
• Previously unblemished career
• No financial gain or loss to any individual
• Difficult personal/family circumstances supported by medical evidence