Diamond scam disaster: Solicitor Michael Webster struck off after £75k theft conviction

Tribunal strikes off Michael Webster after £75k fraud conviction; £2,000 costs imposed

A solicitor once described by colleagues as highly respected has been struck off the Roll after admitting to a series of fraudulent transactions totalling more than £75,000 from his firm’s client account. Michael Anthony Webster, a partner at the now-liquidated Webster Dixon LLP, was ordered by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal to pay £2,000 in costs, cementing the end of his career after more than 25 years in practice.

The tribunal heard that Webster, born in 1964 and admitted in 1989, abused his position as a solicitor and compliance officer when he diverted funds over an 11-day period in 2013. He had been attempting to arrange finance for a client to purchase diamonds from Ghana for resale in Dubai. When the loan collapsed, he began extracting money directly from the client account to cover the failed deal. In total, he took £75,605.27, of which only £27,000 was repaid. The shortfall was covered by professional indemnity insurers.

Webster’s actions led to criminal proceedings. At the Central Criminal Court on 23 May 2014 he pleaded guilty to dishonestly making false representations to make a gain or cause loss. In July 2014 he was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment, ordered to pay £48,605.57 compensation to insurer Balva, given a £100 victim surcharge and disqualified as a company director for two years. The judge who sentenced him was clear: this was not a one-off lapse, but “fraudulent from the outset” and aggravated by his role as a solicitor in a position of trust.

When the case came before the tribunal in December 2014, Webster did not attend but admitted the allegations in writing. In a letter he expressed “extreme regret and remorse”, apologising to clients, colleagues, partners and family, and describing the experience as a “tremendously challenging” period of his life. He urged the panel to allow him to “begin a new chapter”, but his pleas carried little weight.

The panel, chaired by Mr A. Ghosh, reminded itself of the principle established in SRA v Sharma that dishonesty almost inevitably leads to striking off unless truly exceptional circumstances exist. No such circumstances applied here. The tribunal concluded that Webster had failed to uphold the rule of law, had acted without integrity and had destroyed the trust placed in him by the public and the profession. His conviction and admissions left no doubt about his guilt.

Media reports of his criminal trial had already dented the standing of the profession. The tribunal emphasised that allowing Webster to remain on the Roll would further erode confidence in solicitors generally. His dishonesty was deliberate, repeated and designed to cover up a collapsed business deal, not a momentary lapse. The panel stressed that integrity and probity are non-negotiable qualities for solicitors.

On costs, the tribunal considered the SRA’s bill of £2,259 but reduced it slightly to £2,000, noting that the presence of two in-house advocates at hearings had increased the figure unnecessarily. It concluded that £2,000 was proportionate for a case that concluded more swiftly than expected after Webster admitted the allegations.

The final order struck Webster from the Roll and directed him to pay the £2,000 costs. With his firm already in liquidation, his professional reputation destroyed, and his name erased, the ruling marked the final chapter in the downfall of a solicitor once trusted but ultimately undone by fraud.