$20 MILLION conviction: lawyer forced to go to 'extraordinary lengths to clear his name'

A London solicitor who was convicted in the US for conspiracy and falsifying business records in relation to a $20 million (£11 million) fraud has won an appeal clearing him of the charges.


Stuart Creggy, a former partner with now-defunct London firm Talbot Creggy & Co, had the charges against him overturned by a New York appeal court last month.


Mr Creggy and former partner Andrew Rutherford Warren were the subjects of a joint UK/US investigation. Mr Creggy was arrested by the US authorities in 2003 when he went to visit relatives in Florida after being diagnosed with leukaemia. He was sentenced to a $6,000 fine and community service, but avoided a prison term because of his health.


His former partner was extradited to the US where he pleaded guilty to violating securities, banking and tax laws (see [2003] Gazette, 25 September, 4). He has since returned to the UK after serving a US sentence.


Jeremy Harris, a partner at Brian Harris & Co in London, who acts for Mr Creggy, said: 'My client was very aggressively prosecuted and has had to go to extraordinary lengths to clear his name. He has had to go to a lot of expense that he can't claim back. He will now recoup and try to put back together his professional name. He was sitting as a JP [justice of the peace] in London, and had been a successful businessman and lawyer.'


Mr Harris said that although the prosecution had 30 days to appeal, he did not believe it would do so as the appeal verdict had been given unanimously by five judges. He added: 'My client has suffered an enormous amount of negative publicity from the New York District Attorney's office. The body of evidence was never sufficient for them to make these allegations.'


The trial judge at first instance criticised language used by the New York District Attorney's Office (NYDA). In its sentencing memorandum, the NYDA said Mr Creggy had 'contributed to William Shakespeare's sentiment that the first thing we should do is kill all the lawyers'.


Rachel Rothwell