A north architectural technician who pocketed £1,500 cash after forging a signature on a document allowing the building of a house, was fined £3,700 at Dingwall Sheriff Court yesterday.
Duncan Macleman, 41, of 33 Mackenzie Place, Avoch, admitted the charge in October.
The construction of the house at Flowerburn Mains in Rosemarkie went ahead after the building warrant was passed on as genuine on October 24, 2012.
Macleman had prepared various drawings and submitted the warrant as part of the application for client Bruce Main.
But Macleman falsely inserted the name of Anthony Miller, Highland Council’s principal building standards surveyor.
In 2013, Macleman was caught when Mr Main was asked to produce a council tax reference number and it was discovered there was no genuine warrant.
Mr Main then had to pay a fee of £1,900 to the council to obtain a retrospective building warrant rather than face the prospect of the property being demolished. The funds have since been reimbursed to Mr Main including an extra £600 to cover the costs of a second report ordered on the building.
Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood ordered Macleman to pay the fine at £150 a month.
Defence solicitor Alison McInnes said Macleman’s situation had deteriorated at the time due to difficult personal and business circumstances.
She said: “It was a stupid thing to do because it was inevitable that the whole thing would unravel. Certainly when things did unravel Mr Macleman was forthright with the building standards people and with the police and he tendered a plea of guilty at the earliest opportunity. He fully accepts that in the situation he was in at the time he made a very bad choice and that it will have a very serious effect on his ability to stay in a profession that he has been in for years. It is something that he badly regrets.”
A Highland Council spokesman said after the hearing: “This fraud was spotted by surveyors and highlights the robust procedures we have in place to uncover such fraudulent activity. Our staff were pleased to be able to pass on details for the police so they could carry out their investigations and we note the court’s decision.
“We hope this outcome acts as a strong deterrent to anyone else considering fraudulent activity in terms of planning and building standards matters.
“Council surveyors have worked with the householder to overcome the compliance issues and remedial works which would not have arisen had the correct building warrant been applied for and approved by Highland Council.”