Courts / Mayo / Report
Solicitor jailed for stealing €260k from clients has prison sentence halved on appeal
Summary
A former solicitor from Castlebar, County Mayo, has had her prison sentence reduced from twelve to six months following a successful appeal. Jacqueline Durcan, aged 47, had pleaded guilty to stealing €260,000 from clients between February 2008 and January 2011 while operating Durcan Solicitors as a sole practitioner. She was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment in December 2016. The Court of Appeal found the original sentence could have been appropriately reduced for a person of previously good character. The court noted substantial mitigating factors including Durcan's full cooperation, early guilty plea, complete reimbursement through the Solicitors Compensation Fund, and her status as mother of five young children aged between seven and thirteen. The judges acknowledged the particular hardship of her serving her sentence away from her family, who had relocated to Brussels. Durcan has been struck off the solicitors' register.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Solicitor jailed for stealing €260k from clients has prison sentence halved on appeal. Charges or matters: one count of stealing €260,000 between February 21, 2008 and January 27, 2011. Procedural stage: appeal
When:
- February 21, 2008 Hearing Or Sentence
- January 27, 2011 Hearing Or Sentence
- December 8 Hearing Or Sentence
- February 2011 Incident
- 2017-01-23 Publication
Why: In the course of interviews with the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation officers, Durcan explained that she had made a number of property investments which had gone wrong resulting in debts of €6. CNI source report
Case subjects
Appellant
Charges: one count of stealing €260,000 between February 21, 2008 and January 27, 2011 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Credit: Collins) A former solicitor jailed for stealing €260,000 from clients has had her 12 month prison sentence halved on appeal. She was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment by Judge Patricia Ryan on December 8 last.
Places mentioned
- Court of Appeal
Topics
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