Landlords who used gangs to evict tenants jailed
If you thought your landlord was bad, you won't believe what the 'cruel' property owners Sohila and Pedram Tamiz did to their residents.
The pair of 'manipulative' landlords have been jailed after using gangs to evict tenants.
The mother and son duo would order masked gangs to threaten and attack their tenants, even smashing up their homes.
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Between 2011 and 2021, Sohila and Pedram bought terror to the lives of 10 victims who lived inside a converted hotel in Margate.
The residence comprised of 26 flats and the tenants were regularly evicted without notice, having their locks changed and possessions thrown into the street.
One victim, Carl Hopkins even had a balaclava-clad gang storm into his home, douse him in petrol, and knock his teeth out.
Another resident, grandmother Julie Box Beaumont was threatened by balaclava-wearing men when she fell behind with rent.
Speaking about the awful incident, Julia said: "I wasn’t scared, I was absolutely petrified, and I’m still having nightmares about it to this day."
Tenant Anke Angelove huddled round a small kitchen stove with her kids after the power and water was cut off for over a month.
The horrific ordeal landed Sohila and Pedram a trial at Canterbury Crown Court, where the judge heard of their behaviour.
Prosecutor Michael Polak explained how Sohila acted in a 'menacing manner' in an attempt to make her tenants leave.
However, the landlord insisted that she and her son 'were not crazy people' and that the atmosphere inside of her buildings was 'very nice.'
And representing Sohila, Kieran Vaughan QC said in her defence that she had been forced into a violent marriage, had put her children through school, and started a fairly successful business: "The business itself was not founded on criminality, it was founded on legitimate enterprise.
“She will have to live with this, the shame and embarrassment of it."
Judge Rupert Lowe said that the pair were 'cruel and manipulative landlords with no humanity' and without 'a scintilla of remorse'.
Following the trial, Sohila was convicted on 14 counts and received a five year prison sentence.
While Pedram was convicted on seven counts and received four years and two months.
Judge Lowe also ordered that compensation of £30,500 should be paid to the victims and £200,000 in costs to go to Thanet District Council, who brought the case forward for trial.
Shola Lee