Lawyer denies stealing more than £100k from clients

Monday 14 May 2018

A lawyer has denied stealing more than £100,000 of clients' money, some of which he was left in charge of after their deaths.

Kevin Robert Manning (61) appeared in the Royal Court on Friday accused of committing 32 counts of fraudulently using over £113,000 of clients' money for his own benefit during various transactions and payments that he oversaw as a trustee.

Mr Manning is alleged to have taken the money that was intended for other purposes and other people between September 2008 and November 2010, in various amounts between £360 and £30,000. 

He is also accused of two counts of theft by retaining £10,000 from the repayment of a client’s loan sometime before January 2012 and also failings to transfer £1,910 to beneficiaries of a client’s will before January 2014. 

The Solicitor General Mark Temple, told the Bailiff Sir William Bailhache who was sitting with Jurats Olsen and Thomas, that the Crown is also accusing Mr Manning of four counts of failing to comply with the money laundering law between February 2008 and December 2014. 

These have been brought as Mr Manning has allegedly not accurately recorded and labelled balances and transactions of clients' funds, and allegedly did not adopt and apply internal policies and procedures in order to prevent fraud whilst also trading under his business ‘K R Manning and Co’. 

The 61-year-old lawyer is also accused of taking £3,000 without permission from a deceased person whilst overseeing part of her assets. 

Defending, Advocate Estelle Burns put forward a not guilty plea to all the charges.

Mr Manning has been remanded on bail and will reappear in Court on 6 June 2018 for a directions hearing ahead of a trial.