Solicitor who defrauded council and charity struck off

A solicitor has been struck off following criminal convictions after defrauding her council employer and a cancer charity of more than £40,000.

Kalvinder Garcha, admitted in 2000, did not appear before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal but sent an email explaining her absence. The three-person panel agreed to an application from the Solicitors Regulation Authority for the hearing to go ahead in her absence.

Garcha was alleged to have conspired to commit fraud and conspired to convert criminal property. Her conduct was dishonest, the tribunal heard.

Inderjit Johal, for the SRA, told the tribunal that Garcha accepted she had been convicted of the criminal offences, two counts of conspiring to commit fraud and two counts of conspiring to convert criminal property, but denied she was dishonest.

The tribunal heard that Garcha had been a senior solicitor with Oadby and Wigston Borough Council in Leicestershire, at one point holding the role of head of corporate services. She had overall responsibility for human resources and legal services. She was also chair on the board of Coping With Cancer, a local charity.

Garcha, along with Lynn Middleton, defrauded the council of more than £37,000 by having a salary paid to a ‘fake’ employee over 27 months. Meanwhile the charity paid more than £3,000 out to a ‘consultant’ for work that had not been carried out.

Garcha, along with Middleton, misled employers at the council by creating work for the fake employee to carry out and sending reports of what the employee had done. At the charity she sent ‘emails to staff about work [the 'consultant'] had carried out’.

She was jailed in 2021 for two years and six months. In the judge’s sentencing remarks she was described as ‘arrogant and manipulative and got a power kick out of her involvement in the fraud’.

The SDT heard that Garcha received ‘some £7,000 or thereabouts’ from the scam on the council but did not benefit from the fraud against the charity. 

Johal said that Garcha's conduct 'was deemed criminal... and she was imprisoned for a long period of time.’

He added: ‘In respect of the issue of dishonesty, it is plainly dishonest and would be considered so by ordinary and decent people. Creating fake letters at the council and charity…was dishonest. She misled others by creating fake documents. The jury would have had to be sure she was dishonest when convicting her of those criminal offences.’

The panel found all allegations proved including allegations of dishonesty. It ordered Garcha to be struck off the roll and made no order as to costs.