Church lawyer jailed for stealing £4million to fund lavish holidays
A solicitor who plundered more than £4 million from victims including the Church of England has been jailed for seven years.
Linda Box, a respected 67-year-old lawyer, used to funds to pay for luxury holidays, a vintage wine collection and an 'obsession' with clothes, a court heard.
Among her targets was the Church of England as she stole £63,000 in cash from the Bishop of Wakefield's Fund while acting as registrar.
A senior partner at the 200-year-old solicitors firm, Dixon, Coles and Gill, in Wakefield, her activities nearly collapsed the business. She dipped into dozens of accounts over a 12-year period and admitted to nine counts of fraud, two of forgery and one of theft.
She was a 'pillar of the community', Leeds Crown Court heard and Mr Justice Blake said on Friday it was a tale of misplaced trust 'all because of your unrestrained and out-of-control greed'.
The Bishop of Leeds, Nick Baines, said: 'This has been a painful ordeal for all concerned and for whom we, in the Church of England Diocese of Leeds, continue to offer prayers and support.'
West Yorkshire Police's Detective Inspector Dan Tillett said according to ITV: 'Box abused her position as a trusted solicitor to steal large sums of money, believed to be in the region of £4 million, from her clients and abused her position of trust within the Diocese.
'She was incredibly deceitful, taking cash from the estates of the deceased and using it as her own to fund her lavish lifestyle.
'She preyed on vulnerable people at one of the most difficult times of their lives.'
Simon Higginbotham, from the Crown Prosecution Service, added: 'Linda Box used her position as a trusted partner in a law firm to steal millions of pounds from the estates of those who had died, depriving their grieving friends and families of their rightful inheritance. She also abused her senior position of responsibility within the Church of England by stealing.
'Box used the money she stole on spending sprees and to pay off multiple mortgages.
'Through careful analysis of the financial transactions, prosecutors and investigators were able to build a strong case against her, resulting in today's guilty pleas.'
