Legal executive banned for dishonestly transferring £200k from a deceased client’s estate to his company
Christopher Takamitsu Foster, a former private client executive at Robert Barber & Sons in West Bridgford, Nottingham, has been disqualified from working in the legal profession after misappropriating over £200,000 from a deceased client’s estate. Foster was found to have transferred the funds into a company he controlled, violating the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) Principles of honesty and integrity.
Foster’s dishonest actions, which occurred between 2021 and 2023, first came to light in June 2023 when a partner at the firm noticed discrepancies in payments from a client trust. A review of his files revealed that Foster had transferred £219,094.26 from the estate to a private company he had recently incorporated, of which he was the sole director and shareholder.
Foster falsified records, including creating a contact note that falsely suggested the estate’s beneficiary had authorised the transfer. Further investigation uncovered other improper payments, including funds routed to unrelated individuals and payments directly to Foster himself instead of into the firm’s client account.
Embed from Getty ImagesIn addition to these fraudulent transfers, Foster failed to progress a client matter over an 18-month period, creating fraudulent documents to cover up his inaction and misleading both supervisors and the client.
As a result of his misconduct, Foster was suspended by the firm on June 21, 2023, and the matter was reported to both the police and the firm’s insurers. Foster was arrested on July 31, 2023, and later released on bail.
Foster has been issued a section 99 disqualification order under the Legal Services Act 2007, which bans him from working in any SRA-regulated law firm as a manager, employee, head of legal practice, or head of finance and administration. He is also required to pay £1,350 in costs.
