A STRUCK-OFF solicitor, who stole more than €9,000 during what was described as a schematic criminal fraud, has been given a seven-month suspended sentence.
Liam Davis (57), Avondale Lawn, Blackrock, Dublin, pleaded guilty to a charge under the Theft and Fraud Offences Act.
The father of three, who was barred from working as a solicitor in 2009, admitted stealing €9,259 from former client Martina Mulligan on February 8th, 2007.
Det Sgt Margaret Murrell of the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation told Dublin District Court that Davis had been questioned as part of a wider investigation.
A laptop was seized from him and a forensic audit was carried out at his office.
This revealed that Davis, who had a practice in south Dublin, had been handling Ms Mulligan’s purchase of a second property.
In registering the new property he gave a false buying price and used the wrong stamp duty rate. The difference between the stamp duty his client had paid to him and that paid by Davis on her behalf to Revenue was €7,657.
“The deed of transfer was in his signature,” Det Sgt Murrell said.
He stole that sum as well as €1,602 which was a general credit arising from the sale of Ms Mulligan’s first home.
Lawyers for Davis asked the judge to note that the money had been repaid and there was now no loss to the State or Ms Mulligan.
His defence pleaded with the judge not to jail Davis and asked him to note the ex-solicitor was a family man who had lost his career and did not expect to have good employment prospects.
No explanation was given at the hearing yesterday as to why the crime had been committed.
His defence said Davis had already addressed that during an in-camera hearing in the High Court where he was struck off the solicitors’ roll.
Solicitor Bernard Craven, a former college classmate of Davis, gave a testimonial in court. He said Davis, who did not address the court, was embarrassed, deeply apologetic and had to cope with a family tragedy in recent years.
Judge Cormac Dunne said the relationship between a solicitor and a client was one of highest duty and “one of the most fundamental relationships of trust”.
“A message has to be sent out to deter such crimes,” he said.
It was clear in this case trust was “criminally shattered” by Davis, Judge Dunne added. He said Davis had committed a fraud that was “schematic and planned” and which required “intellect and criminal thinking input”.
However, he noted that the stolen money had been reimbursed, Davis had no criminal convictions and he had lost his career along with his earlier standing as a professional man.
Judge Dunne imposed a seven-month sentence but suspended it on condition Davis did not reoffend for the next 18 months.