Mansfield man forged ex-wife’s signature putting home up as collateral for £33k debts

Mark Eastwood's ex-wife discovered paperwork for an individual voluntary agreement with his creditors while she was clearing a spare room in January this year, after their marriage of ‘just less than 30 years’ ended.

Donna Fawcett, prosecuting at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court. said the woman was angry he was using the equity in the Mansfield Woodhouse property they had co-owned for 22 years to tackle £32,840 of his debts.

She believed the signature, dated February 27, 2020, was forged by Eastwood without her knowledge and, when confronted, he said ‘he did it because he panicked’.

Miss Fawcett said ‘no funds pertaining to the charge have ever been paid’, but it represented ‘an abuse of trust because it remained undiscovered for two years’.

Because there was no financial loss, but rather the risk of loss, she said the offence belonged in a lesser category of seriousness.

Eastwood, aged 52, of Redgate Street, Mansfield, admitted fraud by false representation.

John Pendlebury, mitigating, said: “He has never been in trouble before and will never be in trouble again. He was open and honest with police.

“This conviction may terminate his employment. He made the stupid decision to forge his wife's signature. She knew nothing about it. There never was going to be a loss to her.”

The court heard the self-employed driving instructor ‘buried his head in the sand’ over HMRC debts, but ‘eventually there was a knock at the door’.

He was making monthly £200 installments, but ‘there came a point where someone said they needed some kind of collateral'.

Sentencing, magistrates told Eastwood: “It was by sheer chance she found the document as a result of your relationship breaking down.

“If that had not happened, the first time she would have found out was if you had defaulted on your arrangement.”

He said the offence passed the custodial threshold, but Eastwood's prompt guilty plea, and previous good character, mitigated it down to a 12-month community order.

He was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £85 court costs, with a £95 surcharge.