Lawyer jailed for defrauding two companies of more than £600k

A LAWYER who defrauded two companies he worked for to the tune of more than £600,000 has been sentenced to seven-and-ahalf years in jail.

Joshua Brien, 48, was found guilty of three counts of fraud by abuse of position and one count of fraud by false representation at Southwark Crown Court and sentenced on September 10.

The lawyer, of Darnley Terrace, Holland Park, used his knowledge of an internal system that was used to make payments to contractors to channel funds into his own account.

He set up fake email addresses and fabricated correspondence where he diverted funds intended to be paid to contractors into a rogue bank account in Australia.

He is understood to have defrauded the Commonwealth Secretariat, the central institution of the Commonwealth, out of around £150,000 when he worked there between 2014 and 2016.

During his time, he was the sole liaison for a contractor who had been hired by the company to carry out work on their behalf.

He was dismissed for an unrelated offence in 2016, and the fraud was only discovered after he had left the company.

In 2017, he worked for another company called Cooley UK LLP, after lying on his application form about being dismissed from his previous employer.

While at the firm, he acted as a lawyer for an arbitration case involving a marine salvage company.

Again, Brien used his personal bank and told the client to forward payments to this account.

He also defrauded a second client while employed at Cooley UK LLP; this time to the figure of around £90,000.

Using a similar method he had used in the previous fraud, he alluded to be acting on behalf of the firm but instead channelled the money directly to his own accounts.

It was only after police arrested Brien for the offence committed at his previous employer that Cooley UK LLP discovered that more than £400,000 had been paid from this client to his personal bank account.

Brien’s manager had also been alerted after he met with the client’s representative and raised the issue of apparent unpaid fees, which had been paid in good faith by the client but unknowingly stolen by Brien.

Brien was arrested on October 29 2019 before being charged with multiple fraud offences.

Det Con Mark Bunning of the Met’s Economic and Specialist Crime Team said: “Joshua Brien used his knowledge of the internal reporting systems of the companies who employed him to carry out significant fraud.

“He used the employ of his companies to operate in plain sight; carrying out protracted fraudulent activities for his own personal gain.

“However, due to the diligent and dedicated work of the police, Brien has been convicted and will now face consequences of his actions.”