A top London chambers has obtained summary judgment and a money order against its former credit control manager after an alleged £2.75 million fraud perpetrated against the set.
Gillian Goodfield had responsibility for Pump Court Chambers' bank account and for ensuring funds were distributed to barristers. After she left her role £2.75m was found to be missing from the account.
Pump Court Chambers sought summary judgment against Goodfield, also known as Gillian Brown, following admissions in civil proceedings. No arrests have been made.
Applying to stay the civil claim, Goodfield, who appeared remotely and was not represented, said: ‘I have tried to fully cooperate with everyone involved and would like a chance for the criminal case to conclude before this process moves forward. I believe the evidence being gathered including my emails, text messages and other communications will show the…extreme mental state and pressure I was under at the time.’
Saaman Pourghadiri, for Pump Court, said: ‘Notwithstanding Miss Goodfield’s submissions there is no basis to suggest a stay is needed to protect justice of the criminal proceedings in this matter.’
Master McQuail refused the stay application. She said: ‘It is not clear that the defendant would take any different position or stance in these proceedings if there were to be any stay so far as concerns the privilege against self-incrimination. It is not clear to me that anything in these proceedings by way of admission by the defendant or other statements or disclosure of documents will, given statutory safeguards, will be something that would result in criminal proceedings being unfair or unjust or prejudicial to the defendant.’
In the summary judgment application, the court heard of the £2.75m stolen, £2.62m was transferred into bank accounts belonging to Goodfield or her husband and £130,000 into an Amazon account which was mostly used to buy goods for herself.
Reading out from Goodfield’s signed affidavit from a previous hearing, Pourghadiri said: ‘She explains the context and background to a "stupid decision which has destroyed me for the last four and a half years. I worked with people I greatly admired and it sickens me to think they know what I did now".'
Quoting from the affidavit, he said: 'It started off small then became an addiction'. After taking the first £400, Goodfield wrote 'I told myself I would stop once my debts were cleared. I used the money originally to pay all my debts, hire cars, trips for my kids every week, buying them whatever they wanted to ease my guilt.' Her affidavit concluded: 'I am truly sorry for my actions, looking back had I realised the guilt of my actions would make me feel worse rather than relief of clearing my debt, I would never have taken it upon myself to take the funds.’
Goodfield said she had left the chambers 'of my own accord' because 'I could not cope with the emotional weight of what I had done’.
Pourghadiri told the court Goodfield was ‘spending beyond her means’ and her ‘legitimate income [was] totally and utterly dwarfed by the stolen funds’.
Goodfield had used the chambers as her 'private piggy bank’, the judge said. She made a summary judgment against Goodfield and a money judgment for £2.75m plus £336,016.87 interest. The order will also entitle the chambers to recover from Goodfield items allegedly purchased with the chambers’ funds.
