• 6 years ago
• Posted in:Misc. non-violent offences, Theft/ Fraud/ Money laundering
• 0
• Author: melodie
• Tags: Aged 30-39, Committed crimes to access SRS, Convicted 1990s, Convicted 1998, England, Gender issues cited as mitigation, Gregory Challenor, Hampshire, Little or no media coverage, Male victim, Multiple victims, Offended 1990s, Solicitor, Taxpayer victims, Trans woman, Vulnerable victim

Silhouette image via Wikimedia Commons

Gregory Francis Challenor, a male who identifies as a trans woman, was convicted of false accounting, forgery and theft at Winchester Crown Court in 1998. He asked for 41 similar offences to be taken into consideration. He was struck off by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in the same year.

Challenor, 37, had fraudulently obtained £250,000 by making false claims to the Legal Aid Board and then used the stolen identities of five dead children to set up bank accounts to launder the money.  Challenor also tricked 75-year-old client William Colbourn into handing over his life savings of £28,000. The pensioner died two days before the defendant appeared in court.

Police seized several driving licences, birth certificates and bank details from the solicitor’s home in Chichester, West Sussex.  The court heard the money was needed for Challenor’s sex change operation and the offending “just went from one thing to another.”

Media reports

Daily Mail (archived) “The Swindler’s Secret; Solicitor Fleeced His Clients to Raise the Cash for a Sex Change” 28 Apr 1998 https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-110760227.html

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