SOLICITORS accused of stealing £1m made their first appearance at court yesterday.
Barbara Gayton, 52, and Kenneth Hunt, 64, are accused of transferring funds from clients’ bank accounts to their office account to pay for overheads.
The former senior partners at Hunt Kidd LLP in Newcastle are alleged to have taken the money from clients of the firm between October 2008 and October 2009.
David Kingsley-Hyland, prosecuting, told Newcastle Magistrates’ Court that the jointly-charged defendants could not afford their overheads and unlawfully moved funds from clients’ bank accounts to their office accounts.
Although clients have reclaimed their money from compensation schemes, the firm has failed to pay back the money which was alleged to have been taken, it was said in court.
Mr Hunt, of Ratcheugh House in Longhoughton, Alnwick, Northumberland, and Ms Gayton, of Bradwell Court, Gosforth, Newcastle, entered no pleas and their case was deferred to Newcastle Crown Court on March 7.
The defendants spoke only to confirm their names.
Ms Gayton was arrested in November 2009 on suspicion of fraud and Mr Hunt was arrested the next month following a probe by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA).
They were charged with fraud earlier this month. Hunt Kidd Solicitors was closed down by the SRA in November 2009 after an investigation was launched into “suspected financial irregularities” involving two of its senior partners.
Speaking at the time of the investigation, an SRA spokesperson said: “The Solicitors Regulatory Authority have intervened into the practice of Hunt Kidd Law LLP on November 9 on the grounds of suspected financial irregularities on the part of Kenneth Hunt and Barbara Gayton.
“The practising certificates of both Mr Hunt and Mrs Gayton have been suspended with immediate effect.”
If the pair are found to have broken professional regulations, it is understood they could ultimately be struck off.
Throughout his legal career – which began in 1969 – Kenneth Hunt has become an expert in property development issues.
Barbara Gayton was head of the company’s employment department. She joined Hunt Kidd in 1995 and became a partner in 1996.
The company specialised in commercial development, residential property, employment law, property investment and landlord and tenant issues.
