Cruel mother and son landlords who used violence, vandalism and theft to illegally evict tenants during a decade of abuse have been jailed.

Sohila and Pedram Tamiz, of Lenham, ordered occupants’ homes to be smashed up, locks to be changed and masked gangs to carry out terrifying threats and attacks.

The pair, 66 and 47 respectively, were jailed for more than eight years at Canterbury Crown Court on Monday.

Judge Rupert Lowe branded the duo, of Flint Lane, “cruel and manipulative landlords with no humanity” or “a scintilla of remorse”.

The landlords, alongside Adam McChesney, 40, and Kasem El Darrat, 53, denied all charges relating to conspiracy to unlawfully evict.

But a jury unanimously delivered guilty verdicts on 28 counts in July following a trial at the same court.

McChesney and El Darrat were spared jail after the judge deemed they played lesser roles during the criminality, in which vulnerable residents were targeted between 2011 and 2021.

The trial, believed to be the largest prosecution of its kind, heard harrowing accounts from 10 victims who lived inside the converted hotel in Athelstan Road, Margate, which contains 26 flats.

The jury was told a balaclava-clad gang burst through Carl Hopkins’ door, doused him in petrol and beat him, causing the loss of three teeth.

The next day, Mr Hopkins’ locks were changed, forcing him to live in an abandoned caravan, the court was told.

Other victims told how locks were removed, families were plunged into darkness and their belongings were dumped in the street.

Anke Angelova described her children huddling around a kitchen stove for warmth while they went without heating for a month and a half.

She described her family being turfed onto the streets, water and electricity being cut off and flooring “completely destroyed”.

Grandmother Julie Box Beaumont said balaclava-clad men threatened her and ex-Army veteran Stephen Dale after they fell behind with rent.

She added her electricity was shut down before they fled without their belongings, leaving behind Mr Dale’s SAS war medals behind.

“I wasn’t scared, I was absolutely petrified, and I’m still having nightmares about it to this day,” she said.

Jennifer Duffey described Sohila and Pedram falsely accusing her of bringing a bag of white powder into the building.

She said Sohila and two men “demanded undue rent” while “shouting and screaming” before removing the lock from her front door.

Miss Duffey said she was forced to smear shampoo on the floor so intruders would slip if they entered her property after her lock was removed.

And she described how she returned home to find her belongings and furniture had disappeared.

Sohila also took Hayley Griffiths’ key and sabotaged her electricity supply, jurors heard.

And she also conspired to damage the toilet and acted “in a menacing manner, demanding [the tenants] leave”, prosecutor Michael Polak said during the trial opening.

Tenants were routinely threatened and evicted without notice, locks were changed and some belongings were removed or thrown onto the street, the trial heard.

But giving evidence, Sohila denied wrongdoing, arguing “we are not crazy people” and insisted the atmosphere in her buildings was “very nice”.

She was handed five years' custody after being convicted of 14 charges.

They included conspiracy to interfere with the peace and comfort of the residential occupier, conspiracy to unlawfully evict and conspiracy to burgle.

Son Pedram was handed three years and four months in custody after being convicted of seven charges.

They included conspiracy to interfere with the peace and comfort of the residential occupier and conspiracy to unlawfully evict.

Both were acquitted of two charges each, relating to illegal evictions.

McChesney, of Gloucester Avenue, Margate, was handed 20 months, suspended for two years, and 250 hours of unpaid work.

He was convicted of five charges, including conspiracy to interfere with the peace or comfort of the residential occupier and conspiracy to unlawfully evict.

He was acquitted of conspiracy to burgle.

El Darrat, of Athelstan Road, was handed a 12-month community order including 150 hours of unpaid work and 15 probation activity requirement days.

He was convicted of conspiracy to interfere with the peace and comfort of the residential occupier and conspiracy to unlawfully evict.

Representing Sohila, Kieran Vaughan KC said on Monday despite her being forced into a violent marriage she put her children through school and “built a fairly successful business”.

“The business itself was not founded on criminality, it was founded on legitimate enterprise,” he said, adding: “She will have to live with this, the shame and embarrassment of it."

Mr Vaughan said she suffered from a “major depressive disorder” and, more recently, a bout of poor health.

'I wasn’t scared, I was absolutely petrified, and I’m still having nightmares about it to this day...'

The court heard Pedram just “did what his mother said,” and lost his £42,000 teaching job after details of the trial were published on KentOnline and in its sister papers.

Mitigating for Pedram, David Spens KC argued he will not be able to teach again, adding: “Quite how he is going to make a living in the future is unknown.

“The court may take the view he has already been punished,” he went on.

Mitigating for El Darrat, Chetna Patel said he was acting “solely on instructions of Mrs Tamiz” and “did not fully appreciate what he was getting involved in”.

She added Sohila, who was El Darrat’s landlady at the time of his offending, had “a level of influence and control,” over him.

And after details of the trial emerged in the news, the father-of-three lost his job as a mechanic and now relies on Universal Credit, she continued.

David Rhodes, representing McChesney, said he “expresses disgust at his actions” and describes himself as a “donkey led by a carrot”.

He said the father-of-four was “acting under the reaction and control of others” after finding himself in a “subservient position”.

Olympia was set up as an overseas trust in 2003 to avoid paying UK tax, with Sohila, Pedram and other family members as beneficiaries, the court heard.

Mr Vaughan told the judge he was “unable to give chapter and verse” on the total value of the trust’s assets.

But he confirmed the Channel Islands-based property holders were “set up for tax reasons,” stating businesses based offshore are a legal and common practice.

Judge Lowe handed down a criminal behaviour order designed to prevent Sohila and Pedram from acting as landlords.

He also ordered compensation worth £30,500 to be paid to the victims and £200,000 costs to go to Thanet District Council, which brought the case.

McChesney will pay a far smaller proportion while El Darrat is exempt due to having insufficient means, the court heard.

After the sentencing, leader of Thanet District Council Cllr Ash Ashbee said: “The sentences that the judge handed down today reflect the severity of the crimes committed by these four individuals.

“This was a landmark prosecution for us, and one of the largest ever brought for this kind of criminal activity in England. This outcome sends out a strong message to other landlords and agents in the district that we will not hesitate to prosecute you if you unlawfully evict or harass your tenants.

“I would like to thank the council’s Private Sector Housing Team which worked tirelessly on this case for over three years and was determined to get justice for the victims.”

The council also successfully applied for Criminal Behaviour Orders banning Sohila and Pedram Tamiz from engaging in letting agency or property management work or acting as residential landlords indefinitely.

They are also banned from enterting Athelstan Road or Hadlow Drive in Margate.