Southwark Crown Court: 44-month jail term for solicitor
A solicitor who stole nearly £1.2m from clients – in part to pay his tax bill – has been jailed for nearly four years after admitting three counts of fraud by abuse of position.
Andrew Brian Alexander Cooper was struck off earlier this year and the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard that when was confronted by his partners at Streathers about what he had done, he stood up and stated: “I am absolutely fucked.” He then left the building.
Streathers reported him to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, which found that over nearly three years to June 2022 he made more than 80 unauthorised payments that led to a shortage of almost £1.2m on client account.
Most of the money was directed to other clients and third parties, and some went to the firm’s business account. Nearly £77,000 from six client matters was used to pay off his personal tax bill.
Mr Cooper, who qualified in 2007, was a probate partner at Streathers before he was dismissed in November 2022.
His conduct came under the spotlight after he sent a letter to HM Revenue & Customs to ask for a client’s address to be changed to his own. He then signed an electronic signature in the person’s name confirming the changes.
When the client discovered that the address had been changed – because she failed HMRC’s security checks – Mr Cooper deleted the letter, and told both the client and HMRC that he did not send it. Streathers later recovered the letter from its system.
Roxanna Whittaker-Lewis, prosecuting at Southwark Crown Court, said: “Initial investigations revealed widespread misconduct including forged documents, misappropriated client funds, unauthorised transfers between unrelated client ledgers…He was using client’s money for his own personal expenses.”
She said that the overall cost to the firm was £1.24m, although some of it was recovered through insurance.
Amy Packham, defending, said: “This all arose out of a situation where Mr Cooper was under considerable professional pressure and stress.
“It was never his intention to cause a loss to his employers with whom he worked for 17 years.”
Judge Martin Griffith, who jailed him for three years and eight months, said: “I am happy to say that in my time you are only the second solicitor I have had in the dock charged with taking from the funds of clients.
“And it is always sad to see someone 17 years in their profession, rising to being an equity partner, and succumbing to three counts of fraud. All you had to do was ask for help, rather than ruin your life.
“You misappropriated client funds for your own use and transferred funds between unconnected clients. This sort of offence is such a breach of trust by clients, partners, and by the public in general that it can only be met by a sentence of immediate custody.”
