Lawyer is struck off over role in £1.6m property fraud scheme
A LAWYER who helped a fraudster run a £1.6 million scheme that saw vulnerable people conned out of their homes has been struck off.
John Craxton, 60, was hired by Edwin Mclaren, who revealed his plan to commit mass fraud by buying up property.
Mclaren, 55, targeted householders in financial difficulty and induced them to unknowingly sign over ownership of their homes.
Craxton carried out work buying and selling homes on Mclaren’s behalf and helped him build up a portfolio of properties. Mclaren offered to purchase a share in a house in return for the homeowner getting a much-needed cash boost.
But, in a complex fraud, he convinced vulnerable people to sign documents that resulted in them no longer owning their properties.
Houses were then sold on and Mclaren went on to pocket the proceeds with victims receiving little, if any, of the cash they were promised in return.
This was all designed to fund a lavish lifestyle for him and his 54-year-old wife, Lorraine.
Craxton, who qualified in November 1983, was granted immunity from prosecution along with other lawyers after agreeing to give evidence against the Mclarens during their trial at the High Court in Glasgow.
The case became Scotland’s longest trial and saw Mclaren convicted of 29 charges and jailed for 11-and-a-half years.
Craxton, of Dumbarton, had removed himself from the roll of solicitors but the case went before the Scottish Solicitors’ Discipline Tribunal (SSDT) after the Law Society decided it still had to act.
The SSDT panel ruled he should never be allowed to return to the profession and branded his action “serious and reprehensible”.
Craxton did not take part in proceedings against him but wrote a letter saying he accepted his professional misconduct.
In a written ruling, the SSDT said: “The respondent admitted he had facilitated Edwin Mclaren’s fraud. He admitted he had discussed with Mr Mclaren the scheme of buying distressed sellers’ properties in early 2008 and admitted accepting instructions from Mr Mclaren in the knowledge of his plan.
“He admitted Edwin Mclaren was the driving and controlling force of all instructions he received and that the purchases were nominees. At no stage did he meet any of the sellers or purchasers.”
They added: “The tribunal had no hesitation in holding that the respondent’s facilitation of Edwin Mclaren’s fraud, which involved the respondent acting in a dishonest manner, and his failure to act with the utmost propriety were serious and reprehensible conduct.
“The tribunal considered the respondent’s conduct in this case to be at the very highest level of seriousness.
“The admitted facts and misconduct established demonstrated that the respondent was not a fit and proper person to be a solicitor. The respondent should not be allowed to have his name restored to the roll in the future.”
The Mclarens’ trial, which began in September 2015, ran for 320 days before the pair were convicted in
May 2017. It is believed to have cost £7.5m.
Jurors heard the couple, from Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, lived a life of luxury from the fraud. They stayed in a £760,000 mansion, sent their children to private school, and enjoyed exotic holidays.
They were caught when a victim went to police in 2012, which sparked a massive investigation, dubbed Operation Reticulate.
At a proceeds of crime hearing last year, Mclaren was asked by prosecutors to account for £9m that they say passed through his bank account during the fraud. The hearing continues.
In 2019, solicitor Alistair Bowie was also struck off by the SSDT over his role in Mclaren attempting to dupe an elderly woman out of her home as part of the scheme.
Lorraine Mclaren was jailed for two-and-a-half years but was freed within nine months.