An Exeter solicitor has been jailed for stealing 430 thousand pounds from the estates of clients, to pay his overdue tax bills.
65 year old Simon Armitage of Baydale in Clyst St George took the money from the accounts of clients as they struggled to sort out the probate on the wills of dead relatives.
The fraud continued for four years while he ran his own firm, but in June 2013 he merged with the highly respected company Kitsons who detected it within weeks.
He admitted nine frauds and one count of forgery, and was sent to prison for four years.