Today at Southwark Crown Court Barry George Williamson was acquitted of fraudulent trading. Williamson's co directors, Paul William Nathaniel Flint and Nicholas Furr, pleaded guilty to the same charges last year and gave evidence for the Crown at Williamson's trial. They were sentenced in July 2006.
Williamson and Flint founded Legacies (Wills and Probate Services) Ltd ("Legacies") in Brentwood, Essex in 1991. They were both Directors of the company. Furr was made a director in 1998.
Legacies provided a will writing service and administered the estates of deceased persons. The Legacies business expanded over time, providing a wider range of financial services through subsidiary companies, but the wills and probate business remained the core activity, generating work for the rest of the group. It was also the wills and probate business that operated a client account into which substantial sums of client money was received.
In 2002 DTI inspectors paid an unannounced visit to Legacies and uncovered a large deficit in the client account. The Legacies business was subsequently wound up, liquidators were appointed and the circumstances reported to the SFO.
The ensuing SFO investigation established that funds had been taken from the Legacies client account without the knowledge or authority of the executors/administrators and used to finance the non-probate business activities of the Group. The client account deficiency stood at approximately £5 million. This deficiency had built up over a six year period from 1996 to 2002 and affected 229 estates.
In March 2005 Flint, Furr and Williamson were charged with fraudulent trading, contrary to section 458 of the Companies Act 1985. Flint pleaded guilty on 11 November 2005 and was sentenced to a term of four and a half years imprisonment. Furr pleaded guilty on 1 December 2005 and was sentenced to a term of three years and nine months imprisonment. They were sentenced on 11 July 2006.
Williamson maintained a not guilty plea and was tried at Southwark Crown Court in February-March 2006. The jury were unable to reach a verdict. A re-trial was ordered and commenced on 30 October 2006. Williamson was acquitted at the conclusion of the trial on 22 November 2006.
