Phillip John Leslie Stokes

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

Stokes, admitted 1980, had been indefinitely suspended from practice from 31 October 1991 following accounts rules breaches. He subsequently practised without a practising certificate and held himself out as entitled to practise, using the names of other solicitors on the Roll, including a solicitor named Gardener who had emigrated. He was convicted at Knightsbridge Crown Court on 26 May 1995 of three offences of conspiracy to defraud (a dishonest cheque scheme taking some £150,000, with attempts to launder money via travellers cheques) and one offence of obtaining property by deception (a mortgage fraud obtaining some £82,000 from a building society while on bail), and sentenced to three years' imprisonment. The Tribunal found all allegations substantiated, noted his behaviour had gone from bad to worse and that he had embraced dishonesty on a large scale, and ordered that he be struck off the Roll and pay fixed costs of £568.02.

Duties found breached:

• Proper basis for allegations
• Personal probity and fitness to practise
• Hold a current practising certificate

Aggravating factors:

• Convicted of dishonesty offences involving large sums (£150,000 and £82,000)
• Offence of obtaining property by deception committed while on bail for the cheque offences
• Assumed the identity of another solicitor and applied for a practising certificate in that name
• Sentencing judge described deliberate persistent dishonesty
• Prior disciplinary finding (indefinite suspension in 1991) - behaviour had gone from bad to worse