Embezzling Edinburgh Lawyer Struck Off By Disciplinary Body
An Edinburgh lawyer who was jailed for embezzling more than £400,000 from the estate of a dead woman has been struck off by the profession's disciplinary body.
Michael Karus (54) was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment by a sheriff for the crime in 2009.
The Scottish Solicitors Discipline Tribunal said it considered that the charge was a very serious offence committed while he was in a position of trust.
The former lawyer previously pled guilty to embezzling pounds 413,052 while acting as an executor of the estate of Edith Hampton following her death in 2003.
The tribunal said it had "no hesitation" in deciding that the only appropriate sanction was to strike the former partner of law firm Karus and Company, of Gloucester Place, in Edinburgh, name from the solicitors' roll.
"The Tribunal considered that such an offence committed by a member of the profession undoubtedly had a significant negative effect on the reputation of the profession which has not been negated by the money being subsequently repaid."
"Members of the public must be able to have confidence that any solicitor whom they instruct will be a person of unquestionable integrity, propriety and trustworthiness," it said.
It noted that he had "moved on with his life in the years since the offence was committed".
"However, the Tribunal considered that the offence committed by the respondent clearly demonstrates that he is not a fit person to be a solicitor," it said.