A solicitor who stole £85,000 from two clients while acting under a lasting power of attorney and used some of the money to pay for a holiday has been struck off the roll.
Alison Hayley Griffiths, admitted in August 2003, worked in Swindon firm Regulatory Law Limited’s wills and probate division. She was designated an authorised signatory in October 2018 and served as a director at the firm from 2019 until 2021.
In an agreed outcome, Griffiths admitted that between 1 December 2018 and 20 February 2021, while acting under a lasting power of attorney for Client A, she had abused her position by misappropriating £49,482.52 from the client’s bank account. Between 1 March 2021 and 1 October 2021, while acting under a lasting power of attorney for person B, SHE abused her position by misappropriating £35,790.
Griffiths pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position in 2023. She had stolen more than £49,000 of Client A’s funds through ATM withdrawals and direct bank transfers to her own account, using the money to ‘purchase goods and even finance a holiday’, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal’s judgment said.
Griffiths, whose last practising certificate was for 2019/2020. had remained on the roll. She was sentenced in February 2024 to 24 months' imprisonment. The sentencing remarks of the judge, the agreed outcome noted, said client A was a ‘particularly vulnerable victim’ due to her age and because ‘she had dementia and no family’.
Person B was also vulnerable ‘due to his age and health issues’ and Griffiths' actions led to his care fees going unpaid.
The SDT said it was ‘satisfied on the balance of probabilities’ that Griffiths’ admissions were ‘properly made’.
It added: ‘Within the sphere of regulatory and disciplinary conduct there could be no mitigation to minimise the harm. The respondent’s misconduct could only be viewed as extremely serious and no sanction less than a strike off would be sufficient to protect the public and the reputation of the profession.’
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal did not seek its costs, and no costs order was made.
