Lifting of reporting restrictions today allows publication of convictions of members of Robinsons Solicitors, a law firm in Cheltenham, for defrauding the legal aid system.
In phase 1 of this case, the SFO secured ten convictions in 2001, including principal partner Tim Robinson who was sentenced to seven years imprisonment and ordered to pay £½ million as confiscation. In phase 2, twelve other convictions have been secured by the Crown Prosecution Service.
This press release focuses on the proceedings brought by the SFO. An account of the prosecutions brought by the CPS is available from Gloucestershire Constabulary Press Office tel. (01242) 276071.
(A) Introduction
This is about a fraud conducted between March 1989 and January 1995 where 29 members of Robinsons the solicitors' practice were charged with fraud on the legal aid system. Eleven defendants were prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office, of which ten were convicted (attracting a combined total of over 20 years' imprisonment) and one not proceeded against. The remaining defendants were dealt with by the Crown Prosecution Service.
The events covered by this case can only now be published because today, at Bristol Crown Court, the Contempt Order made in April 1999 by HHJ David Smith that prohibited reporting of these matters so as not to prejudice following trials has been lifted. The trial of the final defendant in the CPS proceedings has been delayed for some time due to his ill health and today the trial judge accepted that because of his continued physical deterioration proceedings against him are to be discontinued and the charge to remain on the file.
(B) Outline
The conspirators at Robinsons Solicitors systematically defrauded the then Legal Aid Board (now the Legal Services Commission) by dishonestly claiming from the legal aid fund for work not in fact done.
Robinsons ("the firm") specialised in criminal law, with branches at various times in Cheltenham, Gloucester, Bristol and Swindon. Cheltenham was at all times the headquarters of the firm and from where Tim Robinson, who was the managing partner, controlled the business which he founded in 1972. By 1994 the firm employed around 80 people.
The fraudulent operation came to light when one of the fee-earning staff reported the malpractice to the Legal Aid Board. The Gloucestershire Constabulary fraud squad conducted an initial inquiry and in June 1994 a report was made to the SFO and a joint investigation soon followed. As the investigation proceeded, it was decided in 1997 to split the case in two. The SFO concentrated on the 11 conspirators based at the firm's head office in Cheltenham (which included Tim Robinson) and the CPS proceeded against the defendants who operated from other branches of the firm. The Gloucestershire Constabulary was the principal police force involved throughout. Officers from the Avon & Somerset police and the Wiltshire police also contributed to the investigation. The trials took place at Bristol Crown Court, heard by HHJ Smith QC. Counsel representing the SFO were Ian Glen QC, Timothy Spencer and Andrew MacFarlane.
The SFO prosecutions went first with the first trial opening in May 2000, concluding January 2001. The second trial opened in February 2001 and concluded in July that year. The delivery of verdicts therefore spanned January to July 2001. They are itemised in part (D). A court order prohibited publicity of these verdicts at the time so as not to prejudice the trials of the defendants in the CPS prosecutions that were to follow.
(C) The fraud
Over a period of years (1989-1995) members of the firm perpetrated a fraud by manipulation of the Legal Aid Board's Green Form claims scheme whereby solicitors applied to the Board for payment for certain legal services they provided to their clients. The Board was systematically defrauded by working methods that were devised by Tim Robinson.
The structure devised was that solicitors within the firm fulfilled the role of advocates at the Magistrates Courts. They also attended at police stations occasionally, but this role was normally undertaken by the firm's law clerks. Thus the solicitors were largely "freed" from administrative functions and had relatively little contact with clients. The vital engines of the firm - and the fraud - were the clerks. It was they who frequently attended at the police stations and communicated with clients and "prepared" cases. The chief clerks were vital participants. They were appointed by Robinson and enjoyed a close relationship with him. They supervised the other clerks and liased with Robinson about the number of chargeable hours the firm's employees were producing.
Each clerk, as a fee earner, would complete a daily time sheet which listed the legal aid files worked on that day together: time spent on attendance at police stations and the completed Green Forms were all recorded. The Green Forms and the Police Station Easy Entry Forms, were attached to the time sheets, all of which were then batched up for submitting to the Legal Aid Board on a daily basis. The Green Forms and Police Station Easy Entry Forms needed to be completed to ensure that the firm would be paid, they included name of the client and the type of advice given. Weekly compilation sheets of the hours worked and Green Forms completed were sent to the firm's partners.
The clerks' basic pay was low; average £10,000. Chief clerks were paid around £15,000. For a 50-hour week the rate was less than £4 per hour, but the overtime rate was high, usually between £15 and £18 per hour. Therefore, overall the clerks' rewards were generous, including company cars, but this did require each clerk to claim vast amounts of chargeable overtime hours. Robinson had decreed that clerks could only claim the overtime rates on Green Form work.
(D) Defendants in the SFO action:
Timothy Morgan Robinson (dob 17/5/44). Founder and managing partner.
Convicted by jury 18 January 2001. Sentenced on 26 April 2001 to 7 years' imprisonment and a confiscation/compensation order of £532,000 (which has been paid).
His appeal against conviction was dismissed at the Royal Courts of Justice on 8 November 2002. His application to appeal against sentence was similarly dismissed.
The following defendants also worked from the Cheltenham office of the firm at various periods during the fraud; some leaving and returning to the firm during this time.
Richard Hill (dob 5/8/49).
Managing Clerk until June 1992. Pleaded guilty on 16 April 1999. Sentenced on 8 March 2001 to 14 months' imprisonment.
Howarth Bernith Banton (dob 6/10/58). Clerk. Convicted by jury on 23 May 2001. Sentenced on 3 July 2001 to 4 years' imprisonment.
Margaret Ann Leith (dob 30/6/54). Clerk. Pleaded guilty on 16 April 1999. Sentenced on 10 July 2001 to 8 months' imprisonment suspended for two years.
Clive John Randall (dob 24/11/44). Clerk. Pleaded guilty on 19 January 2001. Sentenced on 28 February 2001 to 9 months' imprisonment.
Gerald Leslie Davies (dob 15/1/64). Clerk. Pleaded Guilty on 10 March 2000. Sentenced on 28 February 2001 to 9 months' imprisonment, suspended for two years.
Errol Pitter (dob 22/12/63). Clerk. Convicted by jury on 18 January 2001. Sentenced on 28 February 2001 to 2-years and 6-months' imprisonment. Appeal against sentence was dismissed on 26 June 2001.
Patrick William Gordon Price (16/6/54). Clerk. Convicted by jury on 19 January 2001. Sentenced on 28 February 2001 to 12-months' imprisonment.
Appeal against sentence was dismissed on 26 June 2001.
Christine Ann Noble (dob 13/3/65). Clerk. Convicted by jury 23 May 2001. Sentenced on 3 July 2001 to 12-months' imprisonment.
Keith Thomas Pengelly (dob 21/6/42). Clerk. Convicted by jury on 25 May 2001. Sentenced on 18 July 2001 to 18-months' imprisonment.
Another employee Paul Donald Smith who was the Practice Manager was also indicted but the case against him was withdrawn.
(E) The charge
The above were all charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud contrary to Common Law. In particular that between 29 March 1989 and 16 January 1995 they conspired together and with others to defraud the Legal Aid Board by dishonestly:
- Making claims in respect of work that had not in fact been carried out,
- Duplicating claims for work carried out,
- Exaggerating time spent on work carried out,
- Giving inaccurate details of clients' eligibility for legal aid.
Notes for editors
The following statistics were supplied by the Gloucestershire Constabulary:
- 38- Properties (business and private)searched on 15 January 1995,
- 120 - SFO investigators and police officers involved in the searches,
- 21 tonnes - Documents seized from the firm,
- Over 96,000 - Number of legal aid forms recovered,
- Nearly 15,000 - Number of forms forensically examined,
- Over 3,000 - Number of witness statements taken.
An account of the case is also published today by the Gloucestershire Constabulary in an information pack "Operation Alison". Contact Chelmsford (01242) 276071.
Serious Fraud Office, Elm House, 10-16 Elm Street, London, WC1X 0BJ
Press Office phone 020 7239 7001/7000 Mobile 0781 807 6688
