Raj Rajan Mariaddan

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

The Respondent, a solicitor at John Street Solicitors LLP, was found to have dishonestly provided misleading information to a law firm (Firm A) representing the Legal Aid Agency about his bank accounts, income and employment status in order to reduce his liability for a debt. He also dishonestly provided misleading information to an insurance broker (Company B) on a professional indemnity renewal form, failing to disclose an ongoing SRA investigation, his conditional practising certificates and previous Tribunal penalty orders. He further failed to maintain valid PII and continued to practise, including holding client money, without valid insurance. The Tribunal made express findings of dishonesty on allegations 1.1 and 1.2. All four allegations were proved. The Respondent was struck off and ordered to pay costs of £30,947.64. His appeal to the High Court was dismissed.

Duties found breached:

• Honesty
• Integrity
• Uphold public trust in the profession
• Act in the client's best interests
• No conflict between current clients
• Professional indemnity insurance

Aggravating factors:

• Proven dishonesty
• Conduct was deliberate, planned and calculated
• Sought to blame office manager for inaccuracies on insurance renewal form
• Experienced solicitor with two previous Tribunal appearances (one involving inaccurate/misleading information)
• Material breach of obligation to protect the public and maintain confidence in the profession

Mitigating factors:

• No complaint from any client, other firm, or insurer
• Long-standing solicitor
• No previous finding of dishonesty
• Not currently practising and unlikely to practise in future due to health