SOLICITOR’S THEFT

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 July 1927, Page 5

SOLICITOR’S THEFT

CLIENTS’ MONEY TAKEN TO PAY FIRM’S DEBTS (Per Press GISBORNE, July 22. John Noden Bullard, solicitor, was charged before Mr. Lewy S.M., at the Police Court, this morning, with fraudulently omitting to account for sums aggregating £l3OB. The alleged offences were spread over three years. Accused conducted his own case, and stated that he intended to plead guilty. Detective McLeod stated that accused had been in practice at Gisborne under the name of Mann and Bullard. Amounts meantime, were in respect to rents collected by the accused for clients and for which he had failed to account. On March 1926, an audit disclosed a deficiency. From a statement by the accused he had endeavoured to pay off the amounts, but realising the impossibility gave himself up to the police in June of this year. He admitted that £6OOO was owing to various firms or private creditors. Since giving himself up he had assisted the police in framing the charges. Evidence was given by various clients and others who had paid money at the accused’s office. William Hamilton Irvine, accountant, deposed that in March 1926, he reported for the Law Society on defendant’s trust account. There was a shortage on March 31 of £6764, and this he reported. At January 31, 1927, a further audit disclosed the deficiency was only £1256. In auditing the trust ledger he found dealings impossible to understand without an explanation from defendant, and this was not forthcoming. The cash book was not kept as it should have been, and was not reconciled with the bank book.

“I simply wish to affirm the statement handed in in writing. I plead guilty to all the charges,” said Bullard, who was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence on ten charges of theft by misappropriation. Prisoner signed a statement to the Inspector of Police, in which he stated that he had paid up the demands on the firm after the death of his late partner, although in many of these cases he had no personal liability for the shortages. For this purpose he borrowed money from relatives and temporarily used clients’ money. The borrowed moneys were used in a hopeless attempt to save an impossible situation.