Not often you see Pools in the Law Gazette!

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/duped ... 04.article

Hmm. Considering the fraudster that he lent credibility to got 8 years in prison, I'd say the solicitor was a lucky so and so, but that would just show how little I understand about the inner workings of the legal profession.

Does seem odd that they were so sure he didn't mean any harm when he didn't open any files, take a retainer or even tell anyone else in his firm. Must be special rules for football related naughtiness.

There is little in that report but on what it says you have to wonder why he can still practice

Criminal lawyer was “duped by fraudster” over football club deal

4 June 2019

Posted by Nick Hilborne

Hartlepool United: Solicitor thought work on deal would follow

A criminal law solicitor who “appeared to have been duped by a convicted fraudster” has been fined £5,000 by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT).

The SDT said the “appropriate fine” for Richard Quinn was £12,000, but it decided on a lower amount because of his debts, lack of assets and the invoices he had submitted “showing the daily rate for criminal advocacy”.

The tribunal said Mr Quinn, consultant at West Midlands criminal defence firm Riley Hayes & Co, was “sloppy” rather than premeditated in his approach to events, motivated by his desire to “get more work in” for the firm.

From November 2014 to January 2015, the tribunal said Mr Quinn drafted letters to help the fraudster, called only Mr M in the ruling, and “received payments for his work into his personal bank account”.

The SDT said he “ought to have known better in the light of his extensive experience as a solicitor during 35 years of practice”.

The tribunal said that “in the usual course of events” Mr Quinn would have been suspended for being reckless and lacking integrity “on more than one occasion”, but “on balance” mitigation militated in favour of a fine.

There was no direct harm caused as the transactions did not progress beyond initial enquiries, but this was “entirely fortuitous”.

The fact he had a previously unblemished career, “appeared to have been duped by a fraudster” and had shown “genuine insight” and “demonstrable contrition” also counted in his favour.

Mr Quinn was admitted to the roll in 1984, and before joining Riley Hayes in around 2010 was a sole practitioner conducting criminal and conveyancing work.

The SDT said Mr Quinn resigned from Riley Hayes at the turn of 2017 after the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) received information from Warwickshire Police and the law firm, which had been unaware of what the solicitor had done in its name.

Mr M was convicted of fraud and given a custodial sentence of eight years in November 2017.

Mr Quinn had provided an initial statement to the police about the fraud in September 2015 and was later interviewed under caution, but he was neither arrested nor charged.

The SDT said one of the frauds related to the attempted purchase by Mr M, a businessman and former director of Swindon Town Football Club, of Hartlepool United.

Mr Quinn admitted drafting a ‘proof of funds’ letter in the name of the firm – that said he had seen evidence that Mr M had access to unencumbered funds of more than €30m – without properly verifying the background to the assurance.

He admitted acting recklessly in doing this and that he had allowed himself to be misled.

He also admitted issuing an undertaking on behalf of the firm as part of the proposed transaction, which the tribunal said was “recklessly misleading” in indicating that the firm acted for Mr M, when no retainer was in place.

The SDT accepted the solicitor’s evidence that the letter was prepared with a view to further instructions on the matter, but said his “indolent approach to opening files, failure to apply his mind to the language contained in the letter, the imprecise, sloppy and tardy approach to drafting the same caused the reckless misinterpretations to have been made”.

Further, Mr Quinn admitted not carrying out due diligence on the £266,000 payment from Mr M that was the subject of the undertaking.

A separate breach was making the firm’s client account available to receive a deposit of £250,000 from Mr M, without telling the partners or carrying out due diligence and in the absence of any retainer with Mr M.

The solicitor also admitted accepting payments of £1,250 into his own bank account from Mr M for work carried out, again without consulting the partners.

The SDT rejected SRA accusations that he had shown a “lack of candour” in dealing with Warwickshire Police
and the SRA, and generally that he had been dishonest.

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-n ... -club-deal

I reckon that if anyone had a full understanding of all the abysmal goings on at the Vic over the last 8 years or so it would make an incredible read and a great plot for a TV series! was this 'Mr M' part of the TMH caper when they directed match day cash income into their own bank accounts? Quite separate to the Coxhall/Goldberg thieving and the desperate realisation by Sage that their smart financial engineering was anything but. Sick making but oddly compelling stuff.

TMH never had control of Pools at any point did they? Think they were the only people to fail the fit owner test as that dodgy Leeds gadgie ended up passing it didn't he?

The whole thing has been a car crash since Berg Larsen stopped funding it. The embezzlement since by a variety of people it’s honestly a wonder the thing is still trading. The sale offer from the sage and the report commissioned by the trust shows in horrible detail the systematic mismanagement at best, thievery at worst along with the huge task inherited by Raj Singh. They really are a very worrying read.

Which sadly the fans/trust members have never seen.

I don't disagree with that.

[quote="poolieboydave"][quote="Mr Irrelevant"]The whole thing has been a car crash since Berg Larsen stopped funding it. The embezzlement since by a variety of people it’s honestly a wonder the thing is still trading. The sale offer from the sage and the report commissioned by the trust shows in horrible detail the systematic mismanagement at best, thievery at worst along with the huge task inherited by Raj Singh. They really are a very worrying read.


Which sadly the fans/trust members have never seen.


How can I get a copy of,or at least a look at, the HUST report ? I'm a member of the supporters trust but never knew that any report had been commissioned. Any forensic report would cost serious lumps of money of cash I would have thought.

4K if I remember rightly. You’ll need to address the question to the trust board, I’m no longer involved.

Surely you and the Trust would have been subject to some form of confidentiality agreement - stopping you from showing everyone just how bad things had been?

Should get someone to write an email

ooh....... I see what you did there.

I believe that NDAs were signed by the trust board. An error in my view but ancient history now. Either way I’m sure that timescale has passed. If anything it’s supportive of the current regime that they still took it on despite all the issues. The clincher was Sage agreeing to recoup their debt on non standard revenue streams - cup runs and the like.