The Law Society has secured interim orders, on consent, freezing the accounts of a solicitor after he earlier this week disclosed a client account deficit estimated at between €300,000 and €400,000.
Barry Murphy, a sole practitioner practising as Eugene Carey & Company Solicitors, Courthouse Chambers, Mallow, had admitted having a "serious gambling problem", it was stated in documents provided to the President of the High Court.
Mr Justice Peter Kelly was told Mr Murphy was consenting to various interim orders, including freezing his accounts and suspending him from practising. The judge made those orders on Thursday and returned the case to later this month.
Niamh O’Connell, an investigating accountant with the Society, said in an affidavit that Mr Murphy had admitted to a serious gambling problem. He said he originally used monies from his office account to fund his gambling habit and had admitted to first dipping into the client account in November or December 2015, she said.
He had said, when he won monies at gambling, he would put money back into the client account, she said.
After his office facility was withdrawn by his bank in mid March, he then only had access to the client account and he said he operated a personal ‘Skrill’ credit account for his gambling which was mostly online with ‘Bet365’ and ‘Betfair’.
The Society’s Regulation of Practise Committee has formed the opinion Mr Murphy was guilty of dishonesty in his practise in allowing a minimum deficit of €349,437 arise on the client account as of June 28th last, she said.
Mr Murphy disclosed the client account deficit to two clients and the Law Society earlier this week when he was unable to provide some €319,000 needed by the clients to close a sale, she said.
Mr Murphy had said he only has some €100,000 left in his client account and admitted to having considerable debts including an office overdraft of €130,000 and some €16,400 on his credit card, Ms O’Connell said. He also said the Revenue was seeking some €15-16,000 for arrears of Vat and PAYE/PRSI.
Mr Murphy further stated his online banking facility was withdrawn by his bank in late March or early April and his office overdraft facilities were withdrawn around mid-March.
He had admitted to delay in dealing with money matters and telling clients many lies “in order to cover his tracks”, Ms O’Connell said. He admitted to waiting for one client’s monies to come in to pay off another client and had also said he had had to pass over some cases to another solicitor
He had also said he owed some engineers, barristers and doctors money from litigation cases but was unable to quantity this figure. He was not aware of any problems with undertakings of complaints and, while he had one claim, had said that had been dealt with.
Ms O’Connell, an accountant in the Society’s Regulation Department, said Mr Murphy was admitted to the Roll of Solicitors in 2008.
Following a phone disclosure on June 27th by him to the Society’s senior investigating accountant, Ms O’Connell said she attended at the solicitor’s offices that day and the following day to isnpect the accounts and had prepared an interim investigation report.
She was advised by Mr Murphy there was an estimated deficit on the client account of between €300-400,000, she said. None of the books were up to date and not all the bank statements were present so it was difficult to quantify the deficit at this time, she said. The books of account were in arrears and had been last posted for July 2015 when the solicitor’s book keeper left the practise.
