A trainee paralegal who embezzled over £200,000 from his employers has been handed down a custodial sentence of sixteen months, following his admission of the crime. 
Callum Scott, a trainee paralegal with Aberdein Considine in Aberdeen, admitted the offence earlier this year at Aberdeen Sheriff Court. He spent sums of the embezzled cash on repaying payday loans accumulated from a spiralling gambling addiction. The theft was discovered following complaints from clients at the firm, who noticed they had not received refunds.
In handing down the sentence, Sheriff Mann said: “No doubt your activities caused concern to those clients of Aberdein Considine, who were expecting to receive refunds and I do know that some funds will be outstanding for many, many months…I have to say that the breach of trust is so spectacular that despite the fact you are a first offender there is no alternative to a custodial sentence in this case.”
Speaking after the sentencing, a spokesperson from Aberdeen Considine sought to assure clients that no one would suffer as a result of Mr Scott’s actions: “Aberdein Considine carries out remortgage conveyancing work under a rigorous compliance framework governed by the Law Society of Scotland, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Solicitors Regulation Authority – as well as the elite standards of our multiple lender clients…It was the robust internal processes within this framework which quickly alerted us to the transactional irregularities involved in this case, allowing us to recover funds and alert the police.
 
Callum Scott, a trainee paralegal with Aberdein Considine in Aberdeen, admitted the offence earlier this year at Aberdeen Sheriff Court. He spent sums of the embezzled cash on repaying payday loans accumulated from a spiralling gambling addiction. The theft was discovered following complaints from clients at the firm, who noticed they had not received refunds.
In handing down the sentence, Sheriff Mann said: “No doubt your activities caused concern to those clients of Aberdein Considine, who were expecting to receive refunds and I do know that some funds will be outstanding for many, many months…I have to say that the breach of trust is so spectacular that despite the fact you are a first offender there is no alternative to a custodial sentence in this case.”
Speaking after the sentencing, a spokesperson from Aberdeen Considine sought to assure clients that no one would suffer as a result of Mr Scott’s actions: “Aberdein Considine carries out remortgage conveyancing work under a rigorous compliance framework governed by the Law Society of Scotland, the Financial Conduct Authority and the Solicitors Regulation Authority – as well as the elite standards of our multiple lender clients…It was the robust internal processes within this framework which quickly alerted us to the transactional irregularities involved in this case, allowing us to recover funds and alert the police.