Lawyer who stole £4m from clients and church jailed for seven years
A "deceitful" lawyer has been jailed for seven years for stealing around £4 million from clients and the Church of England and using it to fund her lavish lifestyle, police have said.
Linda Box, 67, was a senior partner at Wakefield-based law firm Dixon, Coles and Gill and a registrar of the Diocese of Wakefield until 2005.
She was jailed at Leeds Crown Court after admitting nine counts of fraud, two of forgery and one of theft.
Detective Inspector Dan Tillett, of West Yorkshire Police, said: "Box abused her position as a trusted solicitor to steal large sums of money, believed to be in the region of £4 million, from her clients and abused her position of trust within the Diocese.
"She was incredibly deceitful, taking cash from the estates of the deceased and using it to fund her own lavish lifestyle.
"She preyed on vulnerable people at one of the most difficult times of their lives."
Detective Sergeant Corrina Abbott-Smith, of Wakefield District CID, added: "This offence has affected many victims who were grieving for loved ones.
"I hope that the sentence received is a reflection of the seriousness of her crimes and will help to offer some comfort to those victims."
A spokesman from the Diocese of Leeds said Box occupied a high position of trust within the former Diocese of Wakefield until her resignation in 2005.
He said it was unknown what motivated Box to "steal from and defraud those who put faith and trust in her apparent honesty and financial competence".
He said: "The crimes of Linda Box, former registrar of the historic Diocese of Wakefield, have caused great sadness and distress to many people.
"It is those victims who, above all, deserve our sympathy today."
The Bishop of Leeds, the Right Reverend Nick Baines, added: "This has been a painful ordeal for all concerned and for whom we, in the Church of England Diocese of Leeds, continue to offer prayers and support."
Box stole nearly £4 million from around 75 client accounts over a 12-year period and more than £63,000 from the Bishop of Wakefield's Fund.
She reportedly spent some of the money on luxuries, including clothes, holidays, vintage wines, mortgages, private school fees and garden improvements.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority closed down Dixon, Coles and Gill in April last year.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Box also used some of the money stolen from the estates of the deceased to pay off mortgages.
Simon Higginbotham, from the CPS specialist fraud division, said: "Linda Box used her position as a trusted partner in a law firm to steal millions of pounds from the estates of those who had died, depriving their grieving friends and families of their rightful inheritance.
"She also abused her senior position of responsibility within the Church of England by stealing.
"Box used the money she stole on spending sprees and to pay off multiple mortgages."
