Fraud of the Dead: Solicitor admits £2million fraud

Published: 28/10/2013

A former coroner and solicitor has pleaded guilty to 16 counts of theft which saw him pocket £2 million from the estate of deceased clients.

Alan Crickmore has pleaded guilty to 16 counts of theft, seven of fraud by abuse of position and one of fraud between 1999 and 2011.

Suspicion was first raised when Alan C Crickmore Solicitors was closed down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in December 2010. The following month police launched an inquiry into alleged breaches of the solicitors’ code of conduct and accounting rules which found evidence of malpractice.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Sellwood comments:

“This has been a meticulous and thorough two year investigation by Gloucestershire Police that followed an investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

“We are pleased that now, having been faced with overwhelming evidence, Mr Crickmore has acknowledged his guilt to 24 or the 25 charges put to him.

“We will now await sentencing on November 28.”

Content correct at time of publication