Astrid Halberstadt-Twum of Cleveland & Co (East London) submitted approximately 5,795 false legal aid claims for immigration work — either for non-existent people or cases where the firm was never instructed. The fraud totalled £4.1 million in wrongly paid claims plus £758,000 in overpayments. She and her husband were jailed and she was struck off by the SDT in 2019.

Sources

• Legal Futures: Legal aid fraud solicitor fails to set aside £5m judgment