Jail for property solicitor who defrauded own firm of £160k

---

Parsons: Facing Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings

A long-serving property solicitor who defrauded a Hereford law firm out of £160,000 by diverting disbursement payments into her own bank account has been jailed for 30 months.

Fiona Parsons, 54, pled guilty to fraud by abuse of position at Worcester Crown Court last week.

She defrauded over 300 clients into paying money into her own personal bank account rather than the firm’s, totalling just over £160,000.

According to West Mercia Police, Ms Parson’s fraudulent activity was traced back to September 2020, when two house buyers were asked to pay £400 into a bank account to pay for property searches.

However, two years later the couple began receiving bills from the solicitors saying they still owed money for the searches.

The investigation by Hereford CID and West Mercia’s Economic Crime Unit uncovered multiple similar fraudulent activities with the same method after that, through to March 2023 when Ms Parsons was arrested, and the prosecution case began.

As well as going to jail, she is also facing Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings.

According to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), Fiona Hunter Blair Parsons qualified in 1998 and worked for Hereford firm Lambe Corner. Her LinkedIn profile indicates that she has been there since qualification.

Since 2023, she has been subject to stringent conditions on her practising certificate requiring the SRA to approve any employment in the profession.

She was banned for being a partner or manager, and from holding a compliance role or having any involvement with client money – any correspondence about client accounts, including fees, had to be supervised.

The regulator also imposed the unusual condition of requiring that she be chaperoned for all client meetings.

Detective Constable Cathryn Blake of Hereford CID said: “We are pleased to get this custodial sentence at court for Parsons whose fraudulent activities cost a law firm just over £160,000 over a three-year period.

“Her actions not only put customers out of pocket but the business too and it was not only an abuse of her position as a solicitor but also an abuse of trust.

“We would like to thank the firm for their cooperation and all the clients who have been spoken to, whether that was by myself or the firm for their help during this investigation.”