Solicitor struck off for ‘Ponzi scheme’ lending

A solicitor who operated an informal money-lending scheme using clients’ money has been struck off by the High Court for misconduct.

Brendan MacNamara, a former partner in Devitt, Doorley MacNamara, The Valley, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, operated what was “effectively a form of Ponzi scheme”, whereby he received money from clients for property purchases and used it to pay others in his “informal money-lending scheme”, Sean Guerin, BL, for the Law Society, told the court.

Joan O’Neill, a solicitor in the society’s regulation department, said in an affidavit that the misconduct complaints related to liabilities over a number of conveyancing transactions which left three clients at a total loss of around €1.16m.