Man Jailed For Changing Home Valuations During Divorce Proceedings

BBC News has recently reported on a divorce case where a man misled the Court about the true value of his family home during proceedings and has subsequently been imprisoned for seven-and-a-half months.

Case background

Anthony Cooke, aged 50, received three valuations from local agents for the family home on the Isle of Man, which ranged from £340,000 to £350,000.

These valuations took place between March and July 2021. Anthony, of his own accord, then lowered the valuations by altering the emails sent to him by each of the agents, later using them as sworn evidence during divorce hearings. In each valuation, he had lowered the estimated value roughly by £5,000.

The Court was informed that the couple had split up in January 2020 and Mr Cooke sought to purchase his ex-Wife’s share of the property.

Mr Cooke’s actions were later discovered after his ex-Wife rejected a buy-out and insisted that the property be sold on the open market. She also requested a copy of one of the emails from the estate agent directly and of course, the figures did match the Court documents.

Shortly after, the offence was reported to the Police where Mr Cooke was questioned before being charged with committing an act against public justice, to which he later pleaded guilty.

Mr Cooke’s defence lawyer said he was going through “protracted divorce proceedings” and was “not thinking rationally” when committing the offence.

Mr Cooke’s lawyers disclosed that the profession (finance industry) in which his client worked would likely be over as a result of his conviction. He also explained the reason Mr Cooke had done this in the first place was to “get one over” on his ex-Wife and to trick her lawyers in order to make the house affordable for himself, which had failed miserably.

Prosecutor Deemster Richard Parkes said Mr Cooke’s actions “had struck at the heart of the administration of justice”.

Full and frank financial disclosure

In matrimonial proceedings it is the aim of every family lawyer to obtain a settlement for their client which is fair and reasonable, having regard to the particular facts and circumstances of the case.

When negotiating a financial settlement each party is under an obligation to make full and frank financial disclosure of their income and assets. A failure to make full and frank financial disclosure can lead to serious consequences, as highlighted above. Additionally, it could lead to the setting aside of a financial settlement and or a fine.

The case involving Mr Cooke serves as a reminder that there is no scope whatsoever for a party in matrimonial proceedings to be anything other than absolutely honest when disclosing their financial position and the value of their assets.