A conveyancing solicitor who was ‘duped’ into paying £1.2 million to third parties in what turned out to be a fraud has failed to have himself admitted back onto the roll.
Charles James Ete, partner and owner of Charles Ete & Co and the principal of Pride Solicitors – both London firms – had acted for two clients on a £450,000 property sale in 2018 and three further payments of nearly £790,000. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal found the transactions ‘bore hallmarks of fraud’.
Ete had failed to exercise any or adequate supervision or control over an individual using the name of Person A – a purported solicitor at Pride Solicitors who operated under a fraudulent practising certificate – and failed to take any or adequate steps to verify the identity and regulatory status of the individual, the SDT found.
Six days after Ete was contacted by ST Solicitors – a firm acting for a buyer who lost £350,000 in one of the property transactions – and was notified on 4 July 2018 that the firm had contacted the SRA, their client’s insurer and the police, he signed a professional indemnity insurance renewal form confirming he was ‘not aware of any claims’ or ‘circumstances likely to give rise to claims, in the last 6 years’.
