A former deputy coroner and high-profile probate solicitor has been jailed for stealing more than £43,000 from a charitable trust.

Alan Benstock, 51, a former deputy coroner for West Yorkshire and former vice-chairman of the Law Society’s probate section, was sentenced to 22 months for thefts that occurred while he was working at Wakefield firm Lister Croft between March and April 2006.

Leeds Crown Court heard how Benstock took £43,450 from the estates of three clients and put it into a charitable trust, which he kept secret from his colleagues at Lister Croft and did not register with the Charities Commission.

He used the money to fund personal expenses including paying off his credit card bills, his family’s private medical fees and his daughter’s school fees. He used some of the money in a fruitless attempt to generate more business for the firm.

The court heard Benstock had paid back the money after borrowing from his brother and sister-in-law.

Passing sentence, Judge Penelope Belcher said: ‘I do not think you were someone who was motivated by greed, but you were undoubtedly motivated by a desire to live beyond your means.’

Read more – http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/top-solicitor-jailed-cash-theft