A fake barrister condemned for his “web of lies and deceit” walked away with $30,000 of one client’s money and gave such incorrect advice to a second client that she and her family ended up homeless.
Harry Chand, also known as Harry Moon or Manik, was indefinitely disqualified from engaging in legal practice after the NSW Law Society learnt he had been holding himself out as a barrister and providing advice despite never being a lawyer.
The conduct from 2016 to 2018, which included misappropriating just over $30,000 from one woman, would have constituted professional misconduct if he were an Australian legal practitioner.
NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) president, Justice Lea Armstrong, said the conduct was not only extreme but also posed “real dangers to members of the public … who relied on him having the required qualifications to practice as a … legal practitioner”.
“The respondent’s conduct in relation to the matters of [two] complainants demonstrates a complete lack of honesty and integrity, which is fundamental to the practice of law,” Justice Armstrong said.
The second complainant met Chand first and was told he was “more than experienced and qualified” to handle a claim she wanted to make against her deceased father’s estate.
Chand told her to perform legal secretary work and clean his various residential properties in lieu of paying legal fees.
During this time, Chand was said to have told the second complainant she could sue her late father’s executor because he had engaged in misconduct and breached his fiduciary duties.
After the estate matter was settled for $75,000, a real estate agent contacted the second respondent to tell her Chand had asked to deposit the entire amount into his trust account.
It gets worse – read on
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