Alex Ronney Bevan Pereira

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

Alex Ronney Bevan Pereira, a sole practitioner specialising in legally-aided immigration work, was found to have made dishonest claims to the Legal Aid Board using standardised attendance notes and sham interpreter invoices that did not reflect the work actually done. He also admitted failing to adequately supervise unqualified staff and failing to timely notify the Immigration Appellate Authority of changes to hearings. The Tribunal expressly found dishonesty under the Twinsectra test, and noted that even absent dishonesty his recklessness would have warranted the ultimate sanction. He was struck off the Roll and ordered to pay costs of £14,205.07.

Duties found breached:

• Proper basis for allegations
• No improper communication with the court
• No taking unfair advantage
• Uphold public trust in the profession
• Not misrepresent regulated status

Aggravating factors:

• Claims made on public funds (Legal Aid Fund) totalling £888,663 over the relevant period
• Standardised, illegible attendance notes prepared to authenticate claims
• Interpreter invoices generated by the firm that were a sham and did not reflect amounts paid
• Misled the Legal Aid Board about qualified staff in the firm
• Vulnerable client base (asylum seekers)
• Respondent was sole principal with little or no qualified staff for much of the period

Mitigating factors:

• Loss of firm and livelihood
• Had to compromise Legal Aid Board proceedings by paying £30,000
• Had to meet costs of the Law Society's intervention
• No client complaints received