Medium forged lease documents Sentinel Reporter [email protected] MEDIUM Kendra Pinder forged documents to secure premises to set up a spiritualist church. The 36-year-old, of Cormie Close, Chell Heath, pictured, admitted four charges of forgery and four counts of using a false instrument with intent at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court yesterday. But Pinder disputed the prosecution’s version of the events surrounding the forgeries, so a hearing was held to allow Judge Granville Styler to decide what the true circumstances were. The court heard Pinder was a member of Hanley Spiritualist Church, but in 2004 she and several others left the church and decided to set up their own project, called The Phoenix Centre. They found a premises called The Old Church, on Avenue Road, Shelton, and took on the lease. But the project later ran into trouble and was left owing more than £10,000. Pinder admitted she forged the signature of Vincent Boulton, the father of her then-partner, in July 2004. The document was a letter purporting to be from Mr Boulton agreeing to act as guarantor on the lease for The Old Church, which Pinder took out in her name. Pinder claimed Mr Boulton knew she had written the letter and gave her permission to sign it on her behalf. She said: “He was there. His hand was shaking so he said I could sign it for him.” She said there was never any danger of Mr Boulton being left with any debt, because she and her partner, Paul Boulton, planned to sell a house they owned if the project ever ran into trouble. Pinder also admitted signing the lease for the premises in Mr Boulton’s name, but said he had also given her permission for this. The estate agent leasing the property required two references vouching for the guarantor, which Pinder also admitted she forged. One of the referees, Christine Carr, said she had not given permission for Pinder to write to the agent on her behalf. But Pinder said Mrs Carr was present when she wrote the letter. Pinder said: “I went round to her house and she was supposed to have written the letter but she hadn’t. “I was under pressure to get it sorted but she was busy with her daughter so I wrote it and signed it. At the time I thought nothing of it.” The court heard Pinder also forged a letter purporting to be from a second referee. Judge Styler rejected Pinder’s version of events. He said: “I’m satisfied the Phoenix Centre was a project Ms Pinder was determined to push through, and the only way she could do this was to forge documents and signatures. “It is far too coincidental that she should also need to forge the signatures of Christine Carr and the other referee. “Ms Pinder’s allegations against Mr Boulton and in respect of Christine Carr are manifestly untrue.” Judge Styler adjourned sentence for the preparation of pre-sentence reports.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 17:14:29 +0000
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