Barbados: Lawyer, 82, sentenced to six years for stealing client’s BDS$855,000

Barbados: Veteran lawyer Hilary Jeffery Nelson has been sentenced to six years and 64 days for stealing around BDS$855,000 from a London-based client who had entrusted him with the money to buy a home in Barbados.

In the No.5 Supreme Court on Thursday, November 5, Justice Pamela Beckles sentenced Nelson, 82, who was found guilty of stealing £347,560 from Errol Hewitt between November 13, 2018 and March 4, 2019. The funds were to be used to purchase a property at Battaleys Mews, St Peter.

The court said Nelson should serve a minimum sentence of nine years due to the seriousness of the offence, the breach of trust by a professional, misuse of his position as an attorney, the amount stolen and lack of repayment.

Justice Beckles said it was essential that members of the public have confidence in the legal profession and any professional who misuses their position will inevitably receive a custodial sentence. She also said such actions could affect the reputation of Barbados nationally and internationally.

Nelson has been ordered to repay the full amount of BDS$855,000 within 12 months. If he does not do so, he will receive an additional two years.

Nelson initially pleaded not guilty and went on trial before a jury. In May, moments after giving an unsworn statement from the dock, he asked to be rearraigned and pleaded guilty.

He had told the court it was always his intention to repay the money and blamed others involved in the property transaction. He was remanded to Dodds Prison pending sentencing.

During the trial, Hewitt testified that he took out a second mortgage to pay for the property after paying Nelson the money and receiving nothing in return.

Nelson is the third attorney in three years to be jailed in Barbados for stealing clients’ money.