A private prosecution was taken on behalf of Discovery Land Company, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (DLC), against Stephen Jones (Jones), a solicitor in the firm Jirehouse Partners LLP of London. Jones pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud, contrary to s.4 of the Fraud Act, by abuse of his position of trust as a solicitor
Count 1 relates to fraud in the sum of $14,050,000 transferred in April 2018 to the Jirehouse Solicitors Account.
Count 2 relates to fraud in the sum of $2,000,000 transferred in November 2018 to the Jirehouse Solicitors Account. Jones was sentenced by HHJ Griffith at Southwark Crown Court today to:
Count 1: 9 years; Count 2: 3 years to run consecutively; Total sentence 12 years imprisonment.
In his sentencing remarks HHJ Griffith said the conduct of Jones was of “rank dishonesty” and described the impact on the victims as causing immense damage including to the personal relationships of those involved. The Judge said the conduct of Jones was “obviously prosecutable” and crying out for a prosecution that the Police left for the private prosecutor to do.
Jones was instructed in April 2018 by DLC, a US property development company, to purchase Taymouth Castle in Scotland. The case concerns money intended for the purchase of the Castle transferred by DLC to Jones on two occasions and his failure to use the money to buy the Castle for his clients. Jones diverted the purchase funds sent to him and when the purchase of the Castle was due to complete in December 2018, he used stalling tactics to falsely claim that the original funds sent by DLC had compliance and money laundering issues and could not be used. Jones then advised DLC that if they transferred another $9,300,000 he could complete the purchase with the fresh funds and resolve the compliance issues within 7
days and would pay back their excess funds 2 days later. In effect, Jones caused DLC to pay for the Castle twice.
DLC and their lawyers wrote many requests to Jones over the next 3 months requesting him to supply proof of the existence of their funds in a segregated account as required by the regulations of the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Continually, Jones invented compliance issues using the law and regulations as a reason why DLC’s money could not be returned.
Jones even reported his clients to the UK’s National Crime Agency under a Suspicious Activity Report to block their access to the truth that there were no funds of theirs any longer in existence. Jones never returned the funds he had taken, nor has he ever revealed to whom ultimately the money was diverted.
DLC have spent over 4 years trying to trace and reclaim their money that was fraudulently taken. In civil proceedings to trace and recover their money, following a hearing in the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division before Mr Justice Zacaroli, Jones was found to be in contempt of court for breaching undertakings to disclose the whereabouts of the stolen money and sentenced to 14 months imprisonment. The Judge also directed the case papers be sent to the CPS. After 18 months of failure to act by the Police and the CPS, DLC instructed
Steven Kay KC and Max Hardy of 9BR Chambers under the Bar Direct Access scheme with a litigation extension, to take a private prosecution on their behalf. Counsel were assisted by Oculus Financial Intelligence Ltd in the conduct of the case. Close liaison also took place with the law firm Davis Woolfe who have been pursuing DLC’s civil remedies.