Police suspect that applications for legal aid costs were allegedly made in the names of barristers who didn’t even work on cases
THREE judges are among 12 lawyers being probed over suspected bogus legal aid claims for more than £15million.
Scotland Yard’s fraud team have arrested three suspects and quizzed nine more under caution.
The CPS has spent two years reviewing the “large and complex investigation” and is considering charges.Three of the suspects questioned under caution sit as part-time judges in the South East of England.
The other nine are solicitors and barristers working for legal firms in London and the Home Counties.Cops have probed ten cases from 2011 and 2012 with total claims of more than £15million, of which around ten per cent was paid.
Defendants who were privately represented were acquitted or had charges dropped, enabling costs to be claimed against the taxpayer.
Some lawyers are suspected of switching clients’ representation without them knowing so they were defended on exorbitant fees instead of lower flat rates.
EXCLUSIVE
8th January 2018,
Updated: 8th January 2018,
The Metropolitan Police would not confirm whether the allegation is in relation to an estimated £15m legal aid fraud, a figure reported by the Sun newspaper today. Three judges are among those being probed, the tabloid said.
The police force said in a statement: ‘The MPS Operation Falcon Complex Fraud Team are investigating an allegation of fraud referred to police by HM Courts & Tribunals Service in January 2013. Three people have been arrested and nine people interviewed under caution by police and a file has been referred to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision.’
The Solicitors Regulation Authority would not confirm how many solicitors are among the 12 suspects. A spokesperson for the regulator said: ‘We are aware of the issue, and have been working with the police on this. We await conclusion of any other proceedings before deciding on any action of our own.’
The judiciary has been approached for comment.
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