Joe Morgan

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

Joseph Morgan, admitted in 2019 and sole director of Document Certifier Ltd, operated a website certifying documents as true copies of originals when he had only seen uploaded/scanned versions, not the originals. He provided such certification from June 2021, entered a Regulatory Settlement Agreement (rebuke) in August 2022 admitting improper certification (as well as unauthorised notarial and apostille services), but continued to certify documents in the same way in breach of the RSA up to September 2024. The Tribunal rejected his interpretation that an uploaded scan constituted the original, finding certification requires sight of the original document. All allegations were found proved, involving breaches of Principles 2 and 5 and Code paragraphs 1.4, 7.2 and 7.3. The Tribunal found a lack of integrity (not dishonesty). Given the seriousness, absence of remorse, and continuing risk, the Tribunal struck him off the Roll and ordered costs of £35,640.

Duties found breached:

• Integrity
• Uphold public trust in the profession
• No conflict between current clients
• Good faith and courtesy to colleagues

Aggravating factors:

• Conduct was deliberate, calculated and repeated
• Misconduct took place over a long period (June 2021 to September 2024)
• Breach of obligation to protect the public and maintain confidence in the profession
• Motivated by self-interest
• Breached position of trust with every certification
• Continued certifying documents in breach of the RSA and misled the regulator
• Added extra wording to certificates after RSA which did not change the invalid basis of certification
• Showed no remorse or understanding of harm caused
• Did not seek clarification from the SRA about the RSA terms
• Did not make enquiries about insurance for the services

Mitigating factors:

• No previous disciplinary findings other than the RSA rebuke
• Some degree of cooperation with the SRA following the complaint (found insufficient to mitigate)