Former Macclesfield solicitor jailed

Former Macclesfield solicitor, Steven Ronald Shepherd, 54, of Prestbury, has been jailed after pleading guilty to fraud and false accounting.

Shepherd appeared at Manchester Crown Court where he was sentenced to three years for eight counts of fraud and one count of false accounting.

The solicitor was a partner at the Macclesfield based legal firm Shepherd Evans and as part of his role he was responsible for both criminal and probate matters.

Shepherds crimes were uncovered in November 2011 when a financial audit was carried out at Shepherd Evans by an external firm of Chartered Accountants who found that Shepherd had taken funds from other clients’ accounts.

Following the discovery, Shepherd was immediately expelled from the company and Mr Evans notified Cheshire Police who undertook a thorough investigation.

Detective Constable Anthony Condon from the Cheshire Police Economic Crime Unit said: “As the result of our investigation we have been able to prove that Mr Shepherd abused his position as a solicitor and had stolen funds from the estates of deceased parties and from civil cases he was managing.

“He also falsified documents and cheques to conceal the fact that he had misappropriated funds from client accounts. These funds were used to pay Mr Shepherd’s personal tax liability and were also used for his own disposal.

“Shepherd’s misappropriation of funds has caused a great deal of upset for the families who trusted him to manage their personal affairs with respect and dignity, it has also caused a large amount of stress for Shepherd’s ex-partner in the law firm, Mr Evans, who was completely unaware of Shepherd’s criminal behaviour .”

In total, Shepherd misappropriated £145,117.95 from seven victims, including a high value civil case whereby the full funds were not paid to claimant.