A paralegal who helped himself to nearly £440,000 from his firm has been jailed for three years.

Paul Young, 38, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation after diverting money to various personal accounts whilst working in the Manchester office of Berrymans Lace Mayer (BLM).

Employed in the firm’s volume motor team from 2016, Young was first investigated by his firm when a payment of more than £5,000 was paid into an incorrect bank account on his instruction. He was disciplined but given the benefit of the doubt after pleading that it was a genuine error brought on by his mental health issues.

It then became apparent the bank account receiving the money was controlled by Young, and he had been using an automated payment system to ensure that certain payments were directed to him from funds supposed to be for clients.

In June 2019, when a colleague took over a particular case after the client asked when they would receive payment, it emerged that Young had authorised six payments between September 2017 and May 2019 coming to more than £32,000. These were all transferred to accounts belonging to Young, including one used for his wages.

Further investigations found Young made numerous transactions to a variety of different accounts, overall taking around £438,000 over a three-year period.

The money was used on a gambling website and for living expenses. An accomplice, Liam Henry, 37, received 75 bank transfers coming to £185,000 and would withdraw the money in cash. Henry was jailed for two years and two months after pleading guilty to acquiring, using or possessing criminal property.

Detective constable Michelle Wilkinson of Greater Manchester Police’s complex fraud team said: ‘Young’s deceitful, brazen and criminal behaviour spanned three years, and caused significant financial lost for both his employer and their clients.

‘He held a position of trust within his workplace and had access to large sums of money but instead of carrying out his duties he abused his power for his own criminal gain.

‘Even after he’d been caught out the first time and pleaded his innocence he then continued to make bank transfers to his own account and then share this with Henry, leaving them both to reap the rewards and splash the stolen cash.’

Young, from Middleton, was banned in 2020 from working in the legal profession by the SRA. BLM said at the time of the decision that he was dismissed when it was established that his actions breached its contract of employment and the SRA’s code of conduct.