Andrew Adeniyi Abereoji

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

The Respondent, an assistant solicitor, was convicted at Manchester Crown Court on 21 February 2013 of fraud by abuse of position and theft (by employee), receiving concurrent 2-year prison sentences for stealing client monies over a lengthy period using sophisticated deception. He admitted the allegation and asked to be struck off. The Tribunal found breaches of Principles 1, 2 and 6, applied the Sharma dishonesty principle finding no exceptional circumstances, and ordered him struck off the Roll with costs of £2,112 not to be enforced without leave due to his financial circumstances. Hearing proceeded in his absence at his request.

Duties found breached:

• Integrity
• Uphold public trust in the profession
• Non-discriminatory acceptance and cab-rank

Aggravating factors:

• Abuse of position of trust
• Theft of client monies from employer and members of the public over a lengthy period
• Sophisticated cover-up including invented correspondence from a QC on a bogus web address
• Significant damage to reputation of the profession
• Respondent was a risk to the public

Mitigating factors:

• Admitted the allegation and requested to be struck off
• Cited health and personal difficulties
• No previous disciplinary matters