Disbarred barrister jailed after stealing money from housing association tenant

The tenant claimed Ms McCarthy had attended his mother’s wake and said she would assist him while a disrepair dispute with NHG was being resolved. Ms McCarthy then persuaded the tenant to start paying his rent directly into her bank account, the housing association claimed.

She allegedly told the tenant she would transfer the funds into a “court rent account” so he could offset his rent until the disrepair dispute was settled. By doing so, she caused him to breach his obligation to pay rent, NHG argued.

The tenant stopped paying rent in 2019. By the time the possession order was obtained in June 2023, more than £23,000 in rent arrears had been accrued.

On 14 July, NHG successfully obtained an injunction to freeze Ms McCarthy’s assets. Despite indicating to the court that she intended to resist it, Ms McCarthy failed to attend the return hearing.

She was ordered to pay the landlord’s costs, including those of the return hearing, and to make a payment on account of £10,000. 

Ms McCarthy also failed to comply with the freezing order, which required her to disclose her bank account information.

Liam Hale, legal director at Winckworth Sherwood, told the court in October that a consultant visited in person to deliver the freezing order, but the person on the premises denied being Ms McCarthy and refused to take the documents.

Lawyers acting for NHG argued that this therefore placed Ms McCarthy in contempt of court.

When Ms McCarthy did not attend a hearing on 15 September, a bench warrant was issued to secure her attendance at a follow-up hearing on 11 October.

Despite the warrant, Ms McCarthy did not attend this final hearing.

NHG’s barrister, Tom Morris of Landmark Chambers, said: “There is absolutely no doubt that she was made aware of the order at the last hearing. She acknowledges how serious this is. She knows that she needed to be here.”

He asked: “What purpose would a further adjournment serve?”

In her absence, Judge Roberts sentenced Ms McCarthy to nine months in jail for contempt of court, suspended for two weeks.

The judge said: “This is in my judgement an exceptional case where it is appropriate to proceed in the absence of the defendant.”

Ms McCarthy “took advantage of a tenant for her own financial gain,” he said. She “has not co-operated with these proceedings at all” and shown “no acceptance of responsibility, no apology, no contrition”.

He stated that her non-attendance in court was “deliberate and flagrant”, before adding that “she has stolen that money”.

Ms McCarthy was again ordered to pay NHG’s costs and to make another payment of £10,000, meaning she now owes the housing association around £50,000 in legal fees.

A NHG spokesperson said: “We are pleased that the actions taken by colleagues show how we look out for our residents. In this instance, our role in bringing Katrina McCarthy to justice means that we can ensure our resident keeps their home.

“We work hard to raise awareness of safeguarding so that we protect residents from abuse and neglect in its various forms, and examples like this one reinforce the importance of doing that.”

Ms McCarthy told Inside Housing: “NHG have used this action in bringing me to court to suggest that that they are safeguarding theirs tenant.

“This is a blatant misstatement, they have in this matter left the tenant with established rising damp since 2020, to live in conditions that are uninhabitable.

“NHG did not serve any documents relating to the contempt of court, of which the court now are addressing. I am here to help people being victimised by the establishment. They have slandered my name in an attempt to shut me up and isolate me, which will not work.”