Ian Charles MacFarlane

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

The Respondent, a partner at Traill & Co, operated a building society account in the name of 'Ian Godfrey Revue' and wrote client account cheques payable to 'I Revue' to give the impression funds were paid to the Inland Revenue, misappropriating funds over eight years. He pleaded guilty to 26 counts of theft (with 137 further offences taken into account) and was sentenced to 3 years 9 months imprisonment. The Tribunal found the allegation of conduct unbefitting a solicitor by reason of his conviction for dishonesty substantiated and struck him off the Roll, ordering costs of £820.56.

Duties found breached:

• No taking unfair advantage

Aggravating factors:

• Prolonged misconduct over eight years (1996-2004)
• 164 lodgements totalling £825,064.18 into fictitious account
• Pleaded guilty to 26 counts of theft with 137 further offences taken into account
• Sentenced to 3 years 9 months imprisonment
• Defrauded clients and damaged reputation of the profession

Mitigating factors:

• Most of the monies understood to have been repaid