An Auckland lawyer has been struck off for misconduct after he filed false documents in order to allow him to secure a first mortgage on a commercial property.
The New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal has ordered that Rohineet Sharma be struck from the Roll of Barristers and Solicitors after he admitted a charge of misconduct brought by the New Zealand Law Society.
In order to finance the purchase of a commercial property, a lending institution required a first mortgage to be registered against another property owned by Sharma.
To facilitate this Sharma discharged the mortgage to another lender on that other property, submitted a false solicitor’s certificate to the new lending institution and filed a false discharge of mortgage certificate with Landonline to affect the discharge of the mortgage without authority.
New Zealand Law Society President Chris Moore said Sharma had clearly breached the rules that governed how lawyers accessed and amended the online register.
Moore said the society regarded the misconduct, which was misleading, “very seriously”.
“Honesty and integrity are underpinning virtues of the legal profession which must be upheld.
“Lawyers have freedoms afforded to them for the effective provision of legal services. It is obviously critical that lawyers do not abuse these privileges.”
If one person breached the rules it undermined the whole profession, he said.
Sharma founded his Panmure-based legal company Sharma Legal in 2005, according to the business website.
His profile said he was originally from Fiji and obtained his qualifications from The University of Auckland.
According to the Companies Office site, Sharma is the sole director and shareholder of Sharma Legal Trustee Company.
Source: stuff
