A LAWYER is facing jail after admitting stealing £8,000 from a client by claiming he could use the cash to help her escape criminal charges.
David Nightingale, 34, took the money after telling Margaret Ferguson he had struck a deal with the Department of Work and Pensions which would see a potential case against her resolved.
But he had no such deal in place and pocketed the £8,000 she had handed him.
Nightingale, of Cumbernauld, Lanarkshire, has appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court, where he used to represent his clients, and admitted setting up the fraudulent scheme between July and December 2011.
He was originally charged with stealing £10,000 but the figure was brought down after he struck a deal with prosecutors.
He had been working with Hamilton-based law firm Carty’s at the time of the offence.
Sheriff Ross Macfarlane QC deferred sentence until next month for reports.
It is the second time shamed Nightingale, who is no longer registered with the Law Society of Scotland and works in a call centre, has admitted defrauding clients. In 2014, he admitted pocketing £12,500 to fund a gambling addiction which saw him run up a £15,000 debt.
He took the money after saying his father was in mortgage arrears and that he required a loan to stop him losing his home.
Nightingale, who was then working for Airdrie based firm McAfee Solicitors, even told clients that handing money over to him could see them treated favourably by a sheriff.
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