A crooked Birmingham solicitor involved in a series of fraudulent mortgage deals which made a fortune for his client has been kicked out of the profession. City lawyer Colin Barr, 47, failed to disclose vital information to building societies as they lent money for a series of dubious property purchases. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard how Barr ignored warnings from the Law Society about suspicious house deals and acted in a series of 'unusual transactions.' In one case Barr acted for the client Mr M, in a deal that netted £24,000 in a day when a house bought for £51,000 was sold for £75,000. The hearing was told the transaction was among seven Barr worked on between October 1990 and March 1992 - failing to tell the lender about details of the quick sale. In another deal another client made £15,000 in a day after selling a house for £32,000 bought earlier for just £17,000. Senior partner Barr also lied when asked by mortgage lender Abbey National if he had ever been investigated by the Law Society. The tribunal heard that Barr did not tell them he had been 'rebuked' for accounts rule breaches in 1994 and 1997. Barr was not present at the hearing when the tribunal found him guilty of dishonesty. At the time of the transactions Barr was a partner at Barr Cleary in St Paul's Terrace, Birmingham. He later became a partner at Conveyancing UK, based in Sutton Coldfield, until October 2002. Two other solicitors Lesley Alberici, 40, and Robert Plane, 55, appeared at the hearing today to admit a series of allegations. Former law firm partner Lesley Alberici, 40, was fined £3,000 after she admitted a string of rule breaches. But she was cleared of failing to ensure her firm Conveyancing UK was adequately supervised by Barr. Her current colleague Robert Plane, 55, was fined £8,000 after admitting a series of allegations, including practising uncertificated between June and October 2001. | 
