Crystal Westcott

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

The respondent, a solicitor's clerk, had been convicted at Lincoln Crown Court of six counts of obtaining property by deception (defrauding the DHSS of approx £11,500 over about two years) and sentenced to six months imprisonment. The Tribunal found the allegation substantiated and expressly found she had adopted a dishonest course of action. It made a Section 43(2) order controlling her employment by solicitors, ordered her to pay costs of £724.36, and suspended the filing of the order for two months to allow her current employer to seek Law Society permission to continue employing her.

Duties found breached:

• No improper use of client money

Aggravating factors:

• Fraud carried out over an extended period (approximately two to three years)
• Substantial sum defrauded (approx £11,500)

Mitigating factors:

• Financial pressure and depression concerning her health (cancer diagnosis and treatment)
• Ceased claiming benefit upon gaining full-time employment
• Described as diligent, hardworking and conscientious by former and current employers
• Completely honest about the events leading to the hearing
• Did not contest the application