CLIENTS ROBBED

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 43, 19 August 1943, Page 6

CLIENTS ROBBED

BIG SUM INVOLVED

AN AUCKLAND SOLICITOR

[P.A. AUCKLAND, This Day. ! Suspended from practice in April, Huon Lucien Martyn Buisson, solicitor, aged 39, appeared before Mr. J. H. Morling, S.M., in the Police Court today on four charges of theft from various persons totalling £14,277 16s , . , After three of the complainants had piven evidence, Detective-Sergeant Power said that he interviewed Buis'son on August 10 about alleged theft of moneys held by him in trust. The accused told witness that he wished to clear up the whole matter with as little trouble as possible. After he made a statement admitting the offences, witness "asked him what had been done with the moneys misappropriated, and Buisson said he had spent them or had lent a good deal of them which he had never got back. * <

In a statement produced by Power, the accused said he was married. He was born in New Zealand and qualified as a solicitor in 1928. After being employed in a legal office, he was with another solicitor before entering practice on his own account. He was admitted a barrister in 1934 and continued in practice till April last, when he consented to his suspension. While in practice he received numerous amounts from clients under circumstances requiring him to account for them. From the very commencement of practice he had misappropriated moneys.

In issuing some trust receipts, Buisson's statement said, he had used forms from the book of his former employer, who had died some years ago, the accused having retained the book. He found it impossible to supply exact figures, because, from the commencement of practice, he had started takihg money and had never had accurate books. To make his books reasonably accurate in appearance he had shown .various transfers as between clients, these transfers being incorrect and unauthorised.

A public accountant, Herbert F. Twigden, said he was instructed last April by the Law Society to examine the accused's books. He found some very serious discrepancies. The accused had given witness considerable assistance in clearing matters up, and witness would have found it very difficult to arrive at a correct estimate of the amounts.stolen without such assistance.

Replying to the .Magistrate, who asked whether the annual audit should not have disclosed the defalcations, the witness said it should but need not necessarily have done so, as many : of the defalcations were covered up by transfers between accounts, and unless the auditor was specially on guard some of these might pass unnoticed. As it was a trust audit, how-b ever, he considered that the auditor should have been on guard and the defalcations should have been discovered much earlier.

-Buisson pleaded guilty and was committed to the Supreme. Court for sentence next Thursday. Bail was renewed at £1000.