An Ennis solicitor has escaped jail over stealing €149,830 from 11 clients over a five-year period “in a robbing Peter to pay Paul” enterprise. She “took advantage of her status as a member of the solicitor profession and stole from her clients”. But the judge stated that there were exceptional circumstances in the case that allowed him not to jail O’Keeffe. As a result of a complaint lodged with the Law Society concerning discrepancies in the accounts the Law Society sent in a forensic accountant to examine books at O’Keeffe’s practice in 2012. The judge stated O’Keeffe had made full restitution and there was little or no risk of re-offending.

Source: The Irish Times December 11, 2019 16:55 UTC