A Fife doctor who was left £100,000 out of pocket after buying a house from a fraudster has welcomed the crook’s prison sentence.
However, he said the outcome can never compensate him for the stress caused.
Conman Donald Booth forged his wife Nicola’s signature on a separation agreement and a deed purporting to transfer to him sole title to their Dunfermline home.
They split up in 2015 and Dr Babar Akbar bought the property in good faith late the next year, with a horrified Mrs Booth later discovering the house had been sold from under her.
A sheriff reinstated Mrs Booth as a co-owner of the property, leaving Dr Akbar jointly owning his own home with a complete stranger.
Dr Akbar, who is the clinical lead for urgent care services (out of hours) in Fife, eventually bought Mrs Booth’s share of the house but later ended up selling the family home and remains significantly out-of-pocket.
At Dunfermline Sheriff Court on Monday, Booth, 61, was sentenced to four years behind bars.
He also faces being forced to sell property he owns in England to pay more than £54,000 ordered in compensation to Mrs Booth.
‘Justice has been served’
Dr Akbar, 35, who was present for the sentencing hearing said “justice had been served”, though he would have preferred a harsher sentence.
He said: “I would have liked him to be punished more but he’s now seen he can’t steal peoples money from them.
“Part of me is happy that justice has been served.
“It (the experience) has shattered my belief in society as a whole.
“Me and my wife are doctors and we think that people work to help other people but then there’s leeches that feed on people like me and Mrs Booth.
“Whatever sentence is served it does not compensate for the mental stress that me and my family have suffered over the years.”
Bizarre courtroom rants
Dr Akbar said he feels Booth’s rowdy behaviour in court shows it is unlikely he will reflect on the harm his actions caused.
During his appearance in the dock the fraudster repeatedly shouted: “I am a living man, I am not that legal person” after being asked to confirm his name.
He also accused Sheriff Susan Duff of being in contempt of her own court for ignoring his tirade.
Advocate Kelly Duling said former company director Booth had refused to engage with social workers tasked with writing a background report for the court to help inform sentencing.
‘Calculating and despicable’
A jury convicted Booth of forming and pursuing a fraudulent scheme to obtain sole title to the matrimonial home in Braemar Gardens, Dunfermline, and the entire proceeds of sale.
It was found that in pursuance of the scheme, between August 5 2016 and December 16 2016 he forged, or had forged, the signature of his ex-wife on documents.
He presented these as genuine to a solicitor and the Registers of Scotland, inducing the latter to alter the registration details to record him as the sole owner of the property.
Booth also instructed the marketing and sale of the house, whereby it was purchased by Dr Akbar.
He was convicted of retaining the proceeds of sale and obtaining £123,597 or thereby by fraud.
Sheriff Duff told Booth his actions were “calculating and despicable”.
She said “it’s entirely (his) fault” there was no report provided for her consideration and concluded there was no alternative to a prison sentence.
The Crown was given the right to pursue the cash to pay compensation through the civil courts, with the money set to come from Booth’s assets.
Its understood he owns one property in Doncaster and a further two in Sheffield.
Attempts to contact Mrs Booth have been unsuccessful.
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