Current location:health >>
Revealed: Serial dine
health986People have gathered around
IntroductionA serial dine-and-dash solicitor has been struck off after ordering a £43 takeaway and shutting the ...
A serial dine-and-dash solicitor has been struck off after ordering a £43 takeaway and shutting the door on the delivery driver.
Kerry Ann Stevens claimed she had already paid online for the Just Eat order from a kebab shop but this was a lie and the innocent driver had the cost deducted from his wages, a professional tribunal heard.
Ms Stevens was found guilty of two counts of fraud at a magistrates court and has now been thrown out of the profession after the tribunal found her guilty of misconduct for her 'premeditated and deliberate' acts.
Due to her profession, she would have been in 'no doubt whatsoever' that she was committing a crime, the panel found.
The hearing of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal was told that in January 2021, Ms Stevens ordered £43.47 worth of food from a kebab shop via the Just Eat app.
Solicitor Kerry Ann Stevens (pictured) claimed she had already paid online for the Just Eat order from a kebab shop but this was a lie and the innocent driver had the cost deducted from his wages, a professional tribunal heard
Ms Stevens was found guilty of two counts of fraud at a magistrates court and has now been thrown out of the profession after the tribunal found her guilty of misconduct for her 'premeditated and deliberate' acts
Ms Stevens and her partner Daniel Alani have allegedly left multiple restaurants across Essex without paying
A driver arrived at her home address just after 8 pm to deliver the food and asked Ms Stevens for payment.
But, the Essex-based solicitor insisted she had already paid when she placed the order and as the driver rang the restaurant to confirm, she shut the door in his face.
The Essex Grill kebab shop said Ms Stevens had not paid for the food. The delivery driver knocked on her door for several minutes but she did not answer and the bill was subsequently deducted from the driver's salary.
The solicitor - who qualified in February 2016 - told the police she believed her boyfriend had paid when placing the order online.
The panel heard the year before, Ms Stevens and her boyfriend ordered £60.91 worth of food at a Harvester restaurant in Rayleigh, Essex.
After they had finished eating, Ms Stevens' boyfriend left the restaurant and she told a member of staff that she was unable to pay for the food because her partner had taken her bank card.
The solicitor said she would return to settle the bill and provided both her telephone number and her passport to staff.
In dramatic scenes recorded on a mobile phone, staff and customers could be seen preventing them from leaving until police arrived after the pair were recognised by locals
Not just contempt with not paying for meals, taxi drivers have also claimed to have had interaction with the couple. One alleges that Ms Stevens screamed at him when he refused to accept a phone charger as payment instead of cash
Later that same evening, the restaurant's duty manager called Ms Stevens and confirmed that payment could be taken over the phone but the solicitor said she had no other cards to pay with and agreed to come back in the morning to pay the bill.
READ MORE: Moment serial dine-and-dashers are confronted by taxi driver 'when they tried to skip without paying £20 fare' - after CCTV showed pair including crooked lawyer 'attempting to do a runner at pub after Sunday lunch'
AdvertisementBut, the following day the manager tried to call Ms Stevens on the phone number provided and the call failed to connect.
Months later, she contacted the Harvester's care team via email and said she would need to collect her passport.
The manager contacted her again using a second telephone number which was later provided and said she would need to pay the bill and retrieve the passport.
The restaurant then reported her to the police.
In March 2022, Ms Stevens attended South Essex Magistrates Court where she was found guilty of two counts of fraud and ordered to pay a total of £1,943 in costs and compensation.
In another case, Ms Stevens and her partner, Daniel Alani, were confronted by members of the public in a pub after allegedly refusing to pay for their Sunday lunch.
CCTV footage obtained by MailOnline showed the couple being prevented from fleeing the Castle Inn in Little Wakering by staff and fellow customers without settling their £62 bill.
Not just contempt with not paying for meals, taxi drivers have also claimed to have had interaction with the couple. One alleges that Ms Stevens screamed at him when he refused to accept a phone charger as payment instead of cash.
While another taxi driver filmed Mr Alani claiming he had refused to hand over the money for his journey.
The professional tribunal struck her off as they found her convictions amounted to professional misconduct.
The panel said: 'In assessing culpability, the Tribunal found that the motivation was personal financial gain.
'The offences were premeditated and deliberate.
'Ms Stevens had complete culpability for these matters, as reflected in her convictions. In assessing the harm caused, there was obvious harm caused to the profession by a solicitor committing criminal offences, particularly when it was for financial gain.
'In this case, there had been loss caused to the Harvester restaurant and to the delivery driver from the Essex Grill who effectively had to pay for Ms Stevens' meal.'
The panel said there was an 'element of attempted concealment' from Ms Stevens as she shut the door on the delivery driver and evaded the attempts made by the Harvester to pay off her debt.
They added: 'The Tribunal further noted that Ms Stevens' area of practise was criminal law.
'Ms Stevens would have therefore been in no doubt whatsoever that she was committing criminal offences on each occasion.'
She was also ordered to pay costs of £4,489.
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“Stellar Stance news portal”。http://juandenovaisland.pensaotermas.com/html-94b199795.html
Related articles
CRCC equipment renewal campaign spurring growth of circular economy
healthA heavyweight in China's infrastructure construction sector, China Railway Construction Corp expects ...
【health】
Read moreChina's digital revolution: Transforming lives, businesses and beyond
healthA staff member displays a shore crane remote control simulation system at an exhibition during the G ...
【health】
Read moreWorld's first Zootopia land opens at Shanghai Disney Resort
healthThis photo taken on Dec. 19, 2023 shows the opening ceremony of the Zootopia land in Shanghai Disney ...
【health】
Read more
Popular articles
- Book of Xi's Discourses on Community
- Former WWE star 'Shooter' Tony Jones dead at 53 as tributes pour in to 'a true legend'
- Art reshapes rural scene in SW China village
- Scheffler turns the Masters into another Sunday yawner with a dominating win
- Ideas to brighten biz climate mark two sessions
- Maritime Silk Road art festival opens in Quanzhou
Latest articles
Nation has right ingredients for culinary success
Scientific herding improves yield, environment
From yak dung to solar panels, Tibetans embrace modern heating
Germany's Scholz calls for fair competition and warns against dumping during China visit
Hainan eyes bigger role in nation's opening
China beats Philippines at Asian Women's Volleyball Championship
LINKS
- What to watch: Tales from the Loop
- Taiwan's Golden Horse a holdout for uncensored Chinese cinema
- Couple swapped the U.S for Germany 'to be near the most beautiful mountains in the world'
- King Charles leaves hospital as Kate recovers at home
- On Your Side: Survey reveals many college students carry credit
- Body removed after violent attack at Auckland sushi shop
- Your guide to a year in Greece: Time your trip to get the best of the country's historic sites
- Hong Kong venue axes live concert by pro
- China declared malaria
- China tells Biden to reverse 'dangerous practice' on Taiwan world politics