October 2004 |
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Title and
description of item or excerpt. |
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full story |
Date posted
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Fury over legal aid for wealthy
lawyer
A WEALTHY city lawyer who
admitted embezzling £20,000 from clients has caused outrage after it was
revealed he was given taxpayers’ cash during his court case. Critics have
slammed a decision to pay legal aid to Richard McAnulty, 46, despite the
fact he lives in a £400,000 house, drives a Mercedes, runs a successful
chain of sandwich shops and has two children at a fee-paying school. |
The Scotsman |
31 Oct |
"Solicitor masterminded massive
legal aid fraud
A flamboyant lawyer best known
for representing murderer Tracie Andrews has served a jail sentence for
masterminding a multi-million Legal Aid fraud, it can be revealed today.
Solicitor Timothy Robinson, now 60, was convicted of conspiring to
systematically defraud the Legal Aid system of huge sums of cash over a
period of almost six years." (Independent) "More
than 20 staff from Robinsons Solicitors - which had offices in Cheltenham,
Gloucester, Bristol and Swindon - have been convicted of defrauding the
Legal Aid system. On Friday, as the final trial collapsed, reporting
restrictions were lifted, and the full extent of the crimes could at last be
revealed." (BBC)
An account of the case is also published today by the Gloucestershire
Constabulary in an information pack “Operation Alison”. Contact Chelmsford
(01242) 276071. |
Independent
The Scotsman
BBC
Serious Fraud
Office
Operation Alison Media Release |
29 Oct |
Miners deceived on pensions
A financial advisor who took
almost £800,000 from the miners' pension fund at Tower Colliery, has been
found guilty of deception. Workers who bought Wales' last deep mine employed
Colin Stanton to set up a pension scheme, but they found money they expected
had disappeared. Stanton was found guilty of four charges of evading
liability by deception at Reading Crown Court. Update:
Miners' Claims News 2004-2007 |
BBC |
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'Extortionate' debt is wiped
out
A judge has wiped out a couple's
debt of £384,000 which had spiralled from £5,750 due to "extortionate"
compounded interest rates. |
BBC |
29 Oct |
Office of the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner is launched |
The Lawyer |
29 Oct |
Chancery Lane receives
complaints handling targets
The Legal Services Complaints
Commissioner Zahida Manzoor has issued the Law Society with its first set of
targets for complaints handling — and has warned it that she will not accept
excuses for under performance. |
Legal Week
Yorkshire Post |
29 Oct |
Law Society Complaints Target
Raised - by Just 2%
The Law Society will be expected
to increase the number of complaints it resolves within three months by only
2% over the next two and half years, under new targets unveiled today. |
The Scotsman |
28 Oct |
Millions get milked from Bay
of Plenty
The Serious Fraud Office and the
Securities Commission estimate Bay of Plenty people have been fleeced of up
to $100 million over the past decade by fraudsters. They say people, ranging
from the elderly to small business owners, have been duped into high-yield
investment schemes through newspaper advertisements, cold-calling from
overseas brokers and sales pitches from people who have smooth-talked their
way into community groups. |
New Zealand Herald
(Trying to re-establish link) UJ Nov 2005
This might work Nov 2005 |
28 Oct |
Row over keeping whistleblowing
claims under wraps
The government is facing a battle
with MPs and peers over new rules for employment tribunals which keep
whistleblowing claims over corruption, fraud, disregard of public safety and
other misdeeds under wraps. |
Guardian |
28 Oct |
Solicitors stole from bankrupt
company A solicitors' watchdog has
welcomed a ruling to strike off two solicitors who stole £53,000 from a
bankrupt client. Peter Wilson, aged 57, and Richard Lloyd, aged 56, have
been thrown out of their profession after admitting dishonesty. |
IC Coventry |
28 Oct |
CLIENT CASH RIDDLE: DODGY
LAWYER OWES £750K
A DISGRACED lawyer accused of
fleecing cash has gone bankrupt owing up to £750,000. Douglas Criggie, 47,
was investigated by the fraud squad after allegations that he swiped
clients' money at his Edinburgh practice. |
Sunday Mail |
24 Oct |
Barrister Tax Cheat Put Behind
Bars
INLAND REVENUE PROSECUTIONS News
Release (TP29/04) issued by the Government News Network on 22 October 2004.
Richard Deighton (58) a barrister of 146 Bognor Road, Chichester was
sentenced to 9 months jail today at Maidstone Crown Court. |
The Scotsman |
23 Oct |
Solicitor fined over widow's
cheque
ONE of Yorkshire's leading
lawyers was fined £10,000 yesterday after an £80,000 insurance cheque was
put into the office account instead of being paid to a widow. A Solicitors
Disciplinary Tribunal heard that Max Gold Partnership, of Silver Street,
Hull, operated a life insurance scheme that paid out in the event of the
death of an employee. When worker James Evans died in 2001, his wife Mary
should have received £80,000. |
Yorkshire Post |
23 Oct |
Financially compromised fraud victims are denied justice in England |
Rogue
Traders update |
22 Oct |
Investors eye Parmalat lawsuit
bonus
LONDON (Reuters) - Investors
holding Parmalat debt are betting that the bankrupt Italian food giant could
reap a windfall of up to 800 million euros (550 million pounds) from
lawsuits against its banks and accountants, traders say. |
Reuters |
22 Oct |
Society to test POCA in Court of
Appeal
The Law Society is to make its
long-awaited court challenge to the money laundering regulations in a Court
of Appeal case to be heard at the end of November. |
Law Society Gazette |
22 Oct |
Judge throws out record damage
claim against FT LONDON (Reuters)
- A judge says he will strike out a record 230.5-million-pound claim for
special damages by investment bank Collins Stewart against the Financial
Times. |
Reuters |
20 Oct |
Investment scams fleece the
experienced LONDON (Reuters) - The
typical victim of an investment scam is male, professional, middle-aged and
with considerable investment experience, according to the Financial Services
Authority. |
Reuters |
20 Oct |
Information 'will be free' under
new Act
The Lord Chancellor, Lord
Falconer, has told journalists that requests for information under the new
Freedom of Information Act will be free of charge in the vast majority of
cases. |
Holdthefrontpage |
20 Oct |
Spotlight falls on complaints
procedures at Scots law body
THE Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman pronounced herself "delighted" last
week that the powers of her office are to be strengthened, amid renewed
controversy over the way the Law Society of Scotland handles complaints
against solicitors. |
The Herald |
18 Oct |
A law unto themselves
The Law Society wants us to love our solicitors, but the number of
complaints means it is a difficult case to prove. 'My hero, my solicitor' is
the unlikely slogan for a poster campaign designed to impress upon an
uncaring British public just how wonderful lawyers are. 'Hero' certainly
isn't the word that David Smith would choose to sum up his feelings towards
his lawyer. |
Observer |
17 Oct |
Gangsters, blackmail and
sleaze in the ugly game It
might be our favourite sport but a shocking tale of soccer greed and
corruption emerged in a court case last week |
Observer |
17 Oct |
Ireland's new press council will
carry the force of law
THE Irish government is to
introduce a new defence of “fair approach” into the country’s libel laws,
while setting up a statutory press council that allows media
“self-regulation” of the industry. |
Times
Online |
17 Oct |
A reward for failure
Seven staff blamed for helping to
land a £7.5 million compensation bill on Birmingham housing department have
been sacked. The seven had been responsible for examining council houses
where tenants were suing the council for allowing the properties to fall
into disrepair. Three of the seven have now found jobs with the same legal
firms which pocketed millions by winning compensation for tenants, it
emerged today. |
IC Birmingham |
16 Oct |
Calif. Lawyer Convicted of
Bilking Clients
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A jury
Thursday convicted a once-prominent attorney who lived a pampered, lavish
lifestyle for stealing millions from clients including low-income tenants,
disabled children and struggling immigrants. |
Guardian |
16 Oct |
Laywers turn poachers in legal
aid crisis
Chronic underfunding of legal aid
has led to the "cancer of firms stealing clients from each other", a lawyer
said yesterday. |
Telegraph |
16 Oct |
Judge: Legal Aid Rules May
Stifle Building Challenges
A top judge warned today that the
present legal aid system could prevent environmental challenges to building
development ever reaching the courts. Lord Justice Brooke, vice president of
the civil division of the Court of Appeal, called for a study into the
“difficult issue”, involving Government departments, the professions and the
Legal Services Commission which provides legal aid. |
The Scotsman |
15 Oct |
Law chief wants aid as public
service
The president of the Law Society
will call on the Government today to make legal aid a front line public
service alongside health and education in the fight against social
exclusion. Edward Nally is expected to warn the Law's Society annual
conference in Birmingham that legal aid is in crisis and communities across
the country face alienation from the justice system if it is continually
ignored. |
IC Birmingham |
15 Oct |
EU whistleblower in £130m case
is fired
The outgoing European Commission
sacked its most tenacious whistleblower yesterday in a final settling of
scores, prompting furious protests from Euro-MPs. Marta Andreasen, the
former chief accountant, was dismissed without pay following a 28-month
inquiry after she spoke out against the European Union's "Enron-style"
book-keeping. |
Telegraph |
14 Oct |
Criminal bar calls for new
approach to costly fraud trials
It is an extraordinary fact that
roughly 50 per cent of the legal aid budget for Crown Court trials is spent
on one per cent of the cases. |
Telegraph |
14 Oct |
No win, no fee lawyers must
repay £50m
Hundreds of small law firms that
took on "no win, no fee" cases from The Accident Group are having to
reimburse claimants millions of pounds under new guidelines from the Law
Society. |
Telegraph |
14 Oct |
We have to dig deeper
WE will all have to dig much
deeper into our pockets if we are to afford a decent retirement.
But it can only be achieved if all of us - government, workers and employers
- pull together and face up to our responsibilities. |
Mirror
I don't trust the politicians or
"professionals" any more. |
13 Oct |
Admiral's Conman Son Jailed
for £1.2M Fraud
An
admiral’s son who betrayed his privileged background to embark on a life of
crime was jailed for three and a half years today for a £1.2 million
investment scam. Roddam Twiss, 64, whose father was also a former House of
Lords Black Rod, dazzled victims with “big talk and small print”, frequent
name dropping and unrealistic schemes to help the Third World. |
The Scotsman |
13 Oct |
Ex-Cid Man to Be Sentenced for
£90,000 Fraud
A former police officer will be
sentenced today after attempting to defraud a children’s fund of more than
£90,000. Kurtis Nwadikwa-Jonathan, an ex-CID officer in the London borough
of Newham, earlier pleaded guilty at Middlesex Crown Court to two charges of
misconduct in a public office. |
The Scotsman |
13 Oct |
40-year 'career' of fraudster
in £1.2m scam
A serial fraudster who preyed on
successful businessmen has been jailed for three and a half years for a £1.2
million scam. Roddam Twiss, who was convicted of conspiracy to steal, duped
wealthy Americans with a complex financial scheme promising high returns
which were never delivered. |
This is London |
13 Oct |
Solicitor 'Groomed 14-Year-Old Girls'
An
Exeter solicitor sexually assaulted two 14-year-old girls at his home on the
same day, a court heard today. Robert Briscoe, 38, touched one of the girls
on her bottom as she descended from his loft – where he kept a mattress and
porn films. |
The Scotsman |
13 Oct |
Furore as non-Welsh judge is
appointed
MAGISTRATES yesterday demanded
new-style judges in North Wales courts should speak Welsh.
The JPs are angry the area's first district judge, Andrew Shaw, is not a
Welsh speaker, despite previous calls the job should go to a lawyer fluent
in the language. |
IC North Wales |
13 Oct |
Rooney's agent may face police
perjury inquiry
POLICE officers are to meet
prosecutors to decide whether to launch a perjury investigation against
Wayne Rooney's agent. Detectives will meet lawyers at the Crown Prosecution
Service and analyse the answers given in court by Paul Stretford |
IC CheshireOnline |
13 Oct |
Keeping an eye on judges
The appointment of judges has
withstood age-old accusations of cronyism and old-boy patronage.
The stereotype of the white, upper class public-school educated member of
the judiciary still persists, despite the considerable advances in achieving
a meritocratic bench. |
IC Birmingham |
13 Oct |
Beware latest scam: money
laundering
Small businesses are being warned
to be on the look-out for the latest letter scam, using the money laundering
rules to frighten them into handing over money. |
Shout99 |
13 Oct |
Plans to increase female judges
Plans to increase the number of
female judges in England and Wales by encouraging flexible working hours are
being set out by the government. (Hear, hear. UJ) |
BBC |
13 Oct |
Conman solicitor is jailed
A LAWYER who conned clients out
of more than £19,000 was jailed for 18 months yesterday. Edinburgh sheriff
Douglas Allan told 46-year old Richard McAnulty a custodial sentence was the
only appropriate one. |
Daily record |
13 Oct |
Secretive agency accused of
going too far in crackdown on crime assets
New agency threatens the proceeds
of crime. |
Guardian |
12 Oct |
Millions facing pensions
'misery'
A major report into UK pensions
is expected to warn on Tuesday that millions face retirement poverty unless
they work longer or save more. |
BBC
Thinking aloud |
12 Oct |
RAC pushes for Clementi’s B+
regulatory law model
The RAC is calling for a radical
reformation of the legal profession to allow the incorporation of practices
owned by non-solicitors. |
The Lawyer |
11 Oct |
International agencies join
forces to combat spam
Global cooperation on network
security, law enforcement and heightened consumer awareness is needed to
help shield internet users from spam, said the OFT today at a conference of
international spam enforcement agencies in London. |
OFT |
11 Oct |
Asylum advisers face axe
More than 1,000 of the 2,500
immigration and asylum advisers in Britain may be "struck off" by next April
because of problems surrounding a new state accreditation scheme, the Law
Centres Federation has warned. |
Guardian |
11 Oct |
Disclosure burden falls on
clients
The Treasury has come up with a
solution to break the deadlock after lawyers indicated they would not reveal
details of their client's tax avoidance arrangements. Get the clients to
tell the Revenue themselves. |
Shout99 |
11 Oct |
Legal Developments:
Fraud-busters
Governments around the world are
getting wise to the problems of fraud and are beginning to put in place
rules that ensure the perpetrators do not get away with it. Carolyn Boyle
reports |
Legal Week |
07 Oct |
Judicial reform bill flawed, says
watchdog
The lord chancellor's plans to
reform the way judges are appointed were attacked as "wrong-headed" and
"flawed" yesterday by his own watchdog, the Commission for Judicial
Appointments (CJA). |
Guardian |
07 Oct |
Rally ace driven up £3m garden
path
FORMER World Champion rally
driver Colin McRae was the victim of a £3m sponsorship con by a "Walter
Mitty" businessman from Wales. The rally ace, 36, was tricked into believing
soft drinks giant Coca Cola was backing him with the multi- million pound
deal. But a court yesterday heard the deal was a "total fantasy" dreamed up
by businessman Jody Oliver, 26, in a bid to win the friendship of his
motorsports hero. |
IC Wales |
06 Oct |
Solicitor 'failed to voice
suspicions'
A Belfast solicitor has been
jailed for six months for failing to tell police about his suspicions that a
client was laundering drug money. Gavin David McCartan, 46, from Ardenlee
Avenue,... |
BBC |
04 Oct |
Community Legal Service
slammed by DCA report
The Community Legal Service (CLS),
which from 1 April 2000 replaced the old civil scheme of legal aid, has been
criticised following an independent review on behalf of the Department of
Constitutional Affairs (DCA). |
The Lawyer |
04 Oct |
Complaint figures don't always
mean what they say
COMPLAINTS about solicitors for
mis-selling of endowment policies have soared in the last year according to
the Law Society of Scotland. |
The Scotsman |
04 Oct |
Online banking fraud soars as
fake emails trick customers
Hundreds of thousands of online
bankers are leaving themselves open to fraud, with 4.5m pounds ($12m) stolen
from 2,000 people in the UK in the past nine months. |
New Zealand Herald |
04 Oct |
Fraud investigation 'needs
regulating'
Criminal gangs involved in money
laundering and other financial crime will escape prosecution unless the
fraud investigation industry is forced to adopt recognised qualifications,
the government was told yesterday. |
Guardian |
o4 Oct |
How Cheney's firm routed $132m
to Nigeria via Tottenham lawyer
A lawyer, based in offices in a
run-down part of north London, worked with three British executives from the
US construction group Halliburton to pay at least $132m (£73m) in
"unjustified" fees to contacts in Nigeria..."Halliburton has
admitted it paid $132m to Jeffrey Tesler, a UK lawyer. Mr Tesler's firm,
Kaye Tesler, is based on a run down high street in Tottenham, north London." |
Independent |
03 Oct |
Solicitor in court on fraud
charge.
A CALDERDALE solicitor was among
five people to appear in court accused of taking part in a housing scam.
Norman Hopwood (77), of Bramley Lane, Hipperholme, and Maria Kitson, (50),
of Parkwood Street, Keighley, are charged along with Mehfooz Hussain, (26),
Shakeela Bibi, (26) and Mahmood Hussain, (31), all of Fairfield Road, Idle,
Bradford, with conspiracy to defraud. |
Halifax Today |
01 Oct |
Customs investigator suspended
The chief investigator at Customs
and Excise has been suspended as Scotland Yard inquiries continue into a
series of excise frauds in the mid-1990s. Director general of law
enforcement Terry Byrne has been suspended on full pay along with solicitor
David Pickup. |
BBC
The Scotsman |
30 Sep |
Law Society stalls on split-up
plan
The Law Society’s ruling council
has rejected a bid to split Chancery Lane into separate regulatory and
representative bodies — voting instead to delay a decision until after Sir
David Clementi concludes his report into legal regulation. |
Legal Week |
30 Sep |