Revealed: Five job civil servant found guilty of fraud allegedly 'stabbed his mother with scissors' High Court hears as he's accused of 'bullying her into signing over family home'

A civil servant jailed on his birthday for fraud allegedly stabbed his mother with scissors years before bullying her into signing over the family home, a court heard.Kashim Chowdhury, who turned 56 today, looked utterly crestfallen as he was remanded into custody after jurors found him guilty of nine counts of fraud worth more than £280,000.Chowdhury took overlapping government jobs with the likes of Defra and the Home Office during a three-year period, holding down as many as five in one go, and squirrelling away his savings.The court heard Chowdhury exploited the post-Covid culture to work from his £2million home in east London where he cared for his sick mother.That six-bedroom property, just off fashionable Brick Lane, is currently the subject of a legal dispute involving Chowdhury's three older siblings – although jurors were not told of this.It can now be reported that Chowdhury's older brothers Abdul and Anis Chowdhury, and sister Fowzia Hussain, believe he coerced their terminally ill mother into signing documents related to the home's ownership.They said a Declaration of Trust, Deed of Gift and Land Registry transfer document were all 'the product of undue influence' by Chowdhury amid concerns he would be left with nothing when their mother Faijun Nessa died in July 2023.And the court reportedly heard Chowdhury stabbed his mother with a pair of scissors in the 1980s. Kashim Chowdhury was convicted of fraud at Southwark Crown Court today - his 56th birthdayChowdhury said he was his mother's sole carer, and that she made the decision to sign over the house of her own free will after taking legal advice.The dispute was heard at the High Court, with Chowdhury giving evidence part-way through his criminal trial for fraud, which was being held concurrently at Southwark Crown Court, roughly a mile away.The extraordinary situation meant High Court judge Amanda Hardy KC was forced to put reporting restrictions on the civil dispute banning journalists from publishing proceedings until his fraud trial concluded, as all of his siblings lined up to point the finger at Chowdhury and accuse him of dishonesty.Chowdhury told the court his mother, who was illiterate in both English and her native Bengali, initiated the drawing up of the various documents, solicited her own legal advice, and kept him completely out of the loop throughout regarding the details and her intentions.He said he simply wanted a place to live.He also said his mother made her intentions known to her wide circle of friends, yet was not able to explain why none of them nor any solicitors were called to back up his version of events.Barrister Aidan Briggs, for the claimants, said: 'I am going to suggest … your mother was simply doing what you told her to do. You coerced your mother into signing these documents.'Chowdhury replied: 'If there was any coercion my mother would have told lots of people. And there is no evidence she ever said "Kashim was coercing me".' Chowdhury was also locked in a High Court battle with his siblings over the family homeAs the sibling row deepened, Chowdhury told the judge: 'She (mother) wanted to make sure I was safeguarded.'Any stress was entirely caused by my siblings in this matter - they descended on this property for one reason, it was greed, and my mother knew that.'My mum was an intelligent woman, she said she experienced things like this and wanted my future safeguarded.'All I said was I wanted a roof over my head, and that my siblings wanted proceeds out of this. I never wanted a single penny.'The court heard devout Muslim Mrs Nessa previously wanted her home divided according to the principles of Sharia law, with male heirs receiving twice that of female counterparts.The judge will return her conclusion at a later date.Meanwhile, Chowdhury will spend his first night in prison tonight after he was convicted of fraud.The court heard he took sick days and holidays in an attempt to manage his workload and keep the ruse going, allegedly applying make-up to appear ill on a video call with bosses, although his performance was generally regarded to be poor.Chowdhury, who was often handed senior project manager roles with salaries of up to £52,000, said he was suffering poor mental health and was coping with his terminally ill mother's care. He denied trying to deceive employers, claiming evidence proving his innocence was lost by investigators.But he was convicted of nine counts of fraud after prosecutors said he 'positively lied about his employment history and having other full-time jobs'. He looked straight ahead as the unanimous verdicts were returned.His Honour Judge Mark Weekes remanded Chowdhury into immediate custody and said: 'This is a defendant whose world, from his point of view, must appear to be collapsing around him.'The judge said Chowdhury approached the case 'on a somewhat unrealistic basis' as jurors took seven hours to unanimously convict him of all counts.Chowdhury, whose identity was first revealed by the Mail in April last year, was remanded in custody and will be sentenced in January. The maximum sentence for fraud is ten years in prison.The Government said it 'will continue to use all available avenues to recover the proceeds of Chowdhury's offending on behalf of taxpayers'.