A “rogue landlord” who tried to sue a weekly newspaper for defamation over its coverage of a fire at the centre of a bogus insurance claim has been convicted of fraud.

Mahendra Shah was sentenced at the Old Bailey after filing a claim of £810,000 for a house he owned, having taken out a new policy minutes after the property had gone up in flames.

Shah, pictured left, had previously complained to the high court over three articles in the Croydon Advertiser which described him as a “rogue landlord”, including the report of the fire.

Those stories referenced his long history of landlord-related offences and fines, which dated back to 2002.

Shah filed papers last year alleging the articles defamed him, but the claim was struck out at the Royal Courts of Justice in April and he was ordered to pay £11,592 costs.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud last month.

At Monday’s sentencing Recorder Brian O’Neill QC described Shah as “greedy” and “dishonest” but decided not to send him to prison after being told of his health problems.

Neil Baki, defending, told the court Shah suffered from epilepsy and had recently experienced a minor heart attack and a stroke.

Shaw, who owns around ten properties in London, was sentenced to 18 months suspended for two years and ordered to pay a fine of up to £46,000, prosecution costs of £400, and a surcharge of £100.

Advertiser chief reporter Gareth Davies contacted Shah after the hearing to question him over whether he had lied about having a heart attack to avoid a tougher sentence, and a full transcript of the conversation is available on the newspaper’s website.

The Advertiser declined to comment further on the case.