A shamed minister has been booted out of the Church of Scotland after admitting he helped to defraud three elderly brothers of property and cash worth more than £1 million.
For more than 20 years Reverend Ivan Warwick was a respected figure in the Kirk, serving in parishes around the country and even preaching to the future King Charles.
But in one of the worst scandals to rock the Church in recent decades, he cynically abused his position to gain control of the finances of the vulnerable pensioners –draining their bank accounts and selling off the farmhouse they lived in together.
Now The Scottish Mail on Sunday can reveal that, in a rare move, the Kirk has stripped him of his status as a minister.
A disciplinary tribunal this month ruled Warwick, 70, was guilty of ‘extreme and egregious’ acts of ‘dishonest and deceitful behaviour’. Kirk officials then decided he could no longer be a minister – a move they described as ‘the ultimate sanction’.
The scam began when Warwick, then minister of Fodderty and Strathpeffer Parish Church, befriended Hugh, Roddy and David McCulloch – three unmarried, brothers who had lived at Logie Farm in Ross-shire for 30 years, looking after each other while raising cattle and sheep.
In 2013, Warwick – along with his friend, local businessman Douglas Stewart – tricked the McCullochs, who were in their late 70s and 80s – into giving them power of attorney, then duped the brothers into giving away their home and land.
Warwick and Stewart then evicted the brothers – two of whom suffered from dementia – and sold the farmhouse for £390,000, as well as taking £800,000 from their bank accounts. The McCullochs are all now dead but the decision to kick Warwick out of the Church was last night welcomed by their cousin Helen Fraser.
She said: ‘He abused his position to defraud three vulnerable brothers. Now he’s admitted to the Church what he did, it’s about time he admitted it to the police as well.
‘My cousins were victims of a dreadful crime which still needs to be properly investigated. I won’t stop until I get justice.’
In 2017, Mrs Fraser took two of the brothers to Dingwall police station to complain they were being ‘ripped off’ – but no criminal action was taken after Warwick and Stewart told officers they were acting in the best interests of the brothers. An independent financial watchdog later discovered the fraud and launched a civil case at Inverness Sheriff Court.
In her written judgment in 2022, Sheriff Sara Matheson ordered Warwick and Stewart to repay the money after concluding they ‘took advantage of the brothers’ and gained control of their finances ‘by fraud or circumvention.’
She slammed Warwick for using his position as a minister to add a ‘veneer of respectability’ to the scam. Meanwhile the Church of Scotland launched its investigations with the disciplinary tribunal ruling he should lose his status as minister with immediate effect.
Ahead of the hearing, Warwick admitted a ‘dishonest scheme’ for his own ‘personal gain’ which had deprived the McCullochs of ‘property and sums of money’ amounting to £1.15 million.
The Kirk tribunal said: ‘Three vulnerable, elderly men were abused by Mr Warwick and his actions were entirely at odds with his obligations as a minister.’
A Church of Scotland spokesman added: ‘A decision was taken to remove his status as a minister. The tribunal reached the conclusion the ultimate sanction is the appropriate censure in this case.’
This summer we reported that Police Scotland are reviewing the case – after an official report criticised how officers handled the original investigation.
The force last night confirmed investigations are still ongoing.