Stockbroker fraudster may face longer sentence

A LONGER jail sentence may be looming for a former Cork-based stockbroker who admitted defrauding his clients of around €5 million over a nine-year period.

The Director of Public Prosecutions has decided to appeal the three-year jail sentence handed down to Stephen Pearson, aged 44, a father of three from Glanmire, Co Cork. One year of the three-year sentence was suspended.

Pearson was sentenced last month at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to 47 counts of fraud, forgery and false pretences.

Following complaints from a number of Mr Pearson’s clients, the DPP has decided to appeal the sentence at the Court of Criminal Appeal.

The complex fraud by Pearson was traced as far back as 1993. The closure by the Central Bank in April 2001 of W&R Morrogh, the firm in which he was a junior partner, ended an unbroken Morrogh family tradition dating back to 1887.

The firm of W&R Morrogh, 74 South Mall, Cork, collapsed with debts in the region of €12m, the loss of 12 jobs and unspecified fortunes belonging to the 2,563 of the firm’s clients directly impacted.

Senior partner Alec Morrogh said after Pearson was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court by Judge Desmond Hogan: “I’m very disappointed, I thought that was a totally inadequate sentence for what he did, totally inadequate.”

Immediate members of Stephen Pearson’s family were among those who lost heavily in the collapse.

Both Mr Morrogh and Pearson, who were each worth several million at the time, lost everything. Their clients, who had placed their trust in the firm, not to mention their money, also lost considerable sums.

In some cases, the individual losses were well over £1m (€1.27m). Despite this, compensation under current legislation is limited to €20,000 per client.

Although the Investor Compensation Company is making repayments to customers, many are unlikely to get all their money back.