Law firm Perry Hay & Co has been rebuked by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) after sending £333k directly into fraudsters’ pockets during a conveyancing transaction.
The money should have gone into the seller’s account, but unfortunately the firm did not undertake sufficient checks to ensure they really knew where their client’s money was being transferred. The fraudsters were pretending to be selling a property they had no legal rights to – the solicitors sent the money to the fraudsters’ account and not to their client’s. They did not carry out the essential due diligence needed when dealing with client money.
As well as admitting to breaching account rules, the firm also stated that they had failed to report what had happened to the SRA. The SRA rebuked the firm and made them pay £1,350 in costs, deemed ‘proportionate in the public interest’ as well as recognising ‘the loss and inconvenience’ to the clients which was caused by the firm’s conduct.
Known for their topical insight in the area of fraud and risk management, award-winning risk management providers, Lawyer Checker are set to broadcast another of their FREE webinars in the next few weeks; commenting on this and other instances within the industry where knowing who your client is, that their bank account belongs to them, and where their funds are going is essential in the protection of client funds.
This webinar will cover the following:
- Various real life examples of client funds lost to criminals.
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- Why knowing your client and having real-time results can help improve your risk management.
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- How the implementation of Consumer Bank Account Checker can help you validate where your client’s remittance funds are being sent.
To sign up for this FREE webinar please click here.
This article was submitted to be published by Lawyer Checker as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
