TRUST MONEYS

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVIII, Issue 23346, 1 November 1945, Page 4

TRUST MONEYS

I Failure To Account I Solicitor Remanded For Sentence (N.Z.P.A.) AUCKLAND. Oct. 30. I The trial of Maxwell Stuart Walker, i aged 41, on three charges of failing to I account for trust moneys from two estates amounting to £416/5,3, and three counts of the theft of that | amount, was continued to-day before I Mr Justice Callan.

Alexander Milliken, president of the Auckland Law Society. said the Society’s records showed that on September 21. 1943. a letter had been received from a Papakura solicitor complaining of inability to obtain a statement or settlement from accused as to the estate of George St. George. After three letters had been sent to accused he replied that he had been extremely busy and promised to give the matter attention. Later a public accountant was instructed to investigate the accounts in the two estates. Accused, attended a meeting of the Council of the Society cn May 15, 1944. At inis meeting accused said he had been unable to find the bills of costs rendered. “I referred to the amount of £5OO he had charged for fees and asked how the charges were made up.” said witness. “He could not justify them. He was evasive and not helpful.” Witness said he had assessed the fees to which accused was entitled at £8413/-. Witness said he would have been happy to do the work for £5O. No evidence was called for the defence.

A submission by Mr King, counsel for accused, that the major counts should be withdrawn on the ground that a person should not be charged with failing to account for an indeterminate sum alleged to have been due was ruled out by his Honour, who said the real test was whether the jury was convinced that accused took the money knowing he had no right to it. Summing up, his Honour said that if anything it was a case of embezzlement and he advised the jury not to convict accused on the theft charges. Owing to the lapse of time it was impossible for the Crown to get absolutely certain proof that the smaller sums of money actually reached Walker’s hands and because of this there was room for doubt. In connection with the major charge of failing to account, his Honour said it had been testified that the two estates given to tne accused to wind up were verj’ simple, and this appeared to be correct. He had taken more than £5OO for fees when the normal charges would have amounted to about £33. Could any member of the legal profession really believe he had the right to do that? “This solicitor has asserted throughout that he had the right to make these charges.” continued his Honour. “Something was said about delays and difficulties in getting the money, but you have the evidence of the insurance companies that there was no difficulty. It was stated that Mrs Jago had lived at accused’s office, but she had contradicted this. Indeed, she would have had to live there literally to incur fees of £5OO. His Honour pointed out that the defence had not produced a single copy of the bills of costs against the estates. Mrs Jago had sworn on oath that she had never seen one. After she had struggled for a long time to get things wound up she went to another solicitor who, in turn went to the Law Society.

“The Crown’s case infers that this is an unpleasant spectacle of a dishonest solicitor deliberately taking funds which were entrusted to him for his own use,” said his Honour. “My direction to you on the supposed difficulty in defining the extent of the defalcations is that there Is no difficulty at all. I direct that this man could be charged in respect of all the money because, if Mrs Jago is telling the truth, he did not account for any of it.”

After more than an hour’s retirement the jury returned a verdict of guilty on the first count of failing to account, and not guilty on .the other charges. Prisoner was remanded for sentence.