• March 28, 2024
 Power of Attorney abuse sees solicitor pocket £250k

Power of Attorney abuse sees solicitor pocket £250k

South Wales solicitor has been struck off for stealing from clients and creating false wills.

According to recent reports, Peter Charles Davies has had nine allegations made against him for dishonest actions he had carried out between 2010 and 2016.

After qualifying as a solicitor in 1995, Davies is said to have worked at Parry Davies Clynwyd Jones & Lloyd LLP until March 2016.

In the judgement from the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT), Davies claimed he thought it would be difficult for him to be caught out as the clients in question had passed away. It also states that, after he was dismissed from the firm, Davies admitted to some colleagues that he had taken money from the estate of Mr AW, for which he was acting as Power of Attorney.

Davies claims that the beneficiaries of the estate were “hassling” him for the funds, and subsequently created two fake wills in order to obtain money from other estates. These resulted in payments totaling £70,000 being given to Mr AW estate beneficiaries.

The SDT summarised his misconduct as having “demonstrated a shocking abuse of the trust placed in him and was not fit to be a solicitor”.

Davies has now been struck off, as well as ordered to pay £17,000 in costs.

Heather Cameron