A struck-off solicitor and former deputy district judge who defrauded his clients at two law firms of nearly £400,000 over the course of 17 years has been jailed for four years.

Sean Callaghan, 64, of Rayleigh, Essex, “repeatedly edited payment details to divert funds from client accounts to accounts he controlled, inflated client fees for his own personal gain, and falsified invoices”, according to Essex Police.

He worked at Essex firm BMTK Solicitors from 1996 – with his offending starting in 2003 – and was a partner for 15 years before moving to Palmers in 2019 as head of commercial property. His fraudulent activities continued before false invoices were discovered.

Both firms made reports to the police and the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

The firms involved also launched their

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