A solicitor who defrauded her own firm of £160,000 has been jailed for three years. Fiona Parsons, 54 and from Cornwall, pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position at Worcester Crown Court last Thursday.
Parsons, an associate property solicitor with Hereford firm Lambe Corner, directed more than 300 clients to pay money into her own personal bank account rather than to the firm.
The fraud was traced back to September 2020 when two house buyers were asked to pay £400 into an account to pay for property searches. Two years later the couple began to receive bills from the firm saying they still owed money.
Officers from Hereford CID and West Mercia’s economic crime unit uncovered multiple similar incidents with the same method which stretched through to March 2023 when Parsons was arrested. Following her sentence, Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings are now underway.
Detective Constable Cathryn Blake of Hereford CID said: ‘We are pleased to get this custodial sentence at court for Parsons whose fraudulent activities cost a law firm just over £160,000 over a three-year period. Her actions not only put customers out of pocket but the business too and it was not only an abuse of her position as a solicitor but also an abuse of trust.
‘We would like to thank the firm for their cooperation and all the clients who have been spoken to, whether that was by myself or the firm for their help during this investigation.’
Fiona Hunter Blair Parsons, admitted in 1998, is not currently practising and has had interims conditions placed on her since 2023. She will now be subject to disciplinary proceedings by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
