A former solicitor who stole more than £340,000 from his elderly client has been jailed for six years.
Stephen Acres, who was struck off in 2017, used a debit card issued to him by the victim’s bank to withdraw the money over three years. He had taken sole control of his client’s affairs in 2013 following the death of a relative.
Money was also transferred to his personal account as well as to another person’s account, which was then funnelled back to Acres.
The offences first came to light when Acres, 58, who worked for a firm based in Potters Bar, paid off a personal debt to another solicitor with a cheque drawn on the victim’s bank account. The incident was reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority but Acres claimed the payment had been a mistake and the case was adjourned. Further investigations started in 2015 when the proceeds of the victim’s house sale, which came to £225,000, were transferred to an unknown bank account.
In 2016, the Court of Protection removed Acres’ access to his victim’s accounts and appointed a different firm of solicitors, which was able to request information on the questionable transactions.
Acres was struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and the case referred to Hertfordshire Police when it was established that the beneficiary of the £225,000 was Acres’ former partner, who had sent the majority back to him.
Acres admitted to stealing £225,000 and creating a false deed of variation to make it appear that the victim had consented to this, pleading guilty in advance of the court hearing at St Albans Crown Court. He denied the charges of stealing other monies from the victim’s account but was found guilty at the trial. He was sentenced to six years in jail, with the judge commenting that he was entirely motivated by his own needs with little concern for the victim.
Detective constable Liz Heath, from the serious fraud and cyber unit who led the investigation, said: 'Stephen Acres was trusted to safeguard the finances of a vulnerable and elderly woman suffering with dementia. However, once the other attorney passed away, it gave Acres free access to the victim’s account to use it as though it were his own.
'He stole large sums of money from her, in order to pay off debts as well as towards a lifestyle, and despite claiming to have the intention of paying it back, he made no attempts to do so. He just continued to spend the money of an elderly woman, who had worked hard her whole life, and had believed he was there to do the right thing by her.’
