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Former Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement

FORMER Stranraer lawyer Kennedy Forster has admitted 34 charges of embezzlement at the High Court in Glasgow, the Free Press can exclusively reveal.

Forster (54), of Thornbank House, Thornbank Road, Stranraer, pleaded guilty to taking the money from former clients. The total value of the embezzlement is understood to be in excess of £600,000.

The offences took place in the 1990s when Forster was senior partner at local legal firm Ferguson and Forster. He has also pleaded guilty to six further charges of transferring assets - worth a total of £118,500 - to other people while bankruptcy proceedings were underway.

The "other people" are understood to include his wife Jan, sons Mark and Simon and brother-in-law Ian Stirling, a wealthy Perthshire farmer.

The charges state that the family members were granted undue preference in relation to other creditors.

Forster, who formerly sat on the bench at Stranraer Sheriff Court as an Honorary Sheriff, made his guilty pleas during an appearance at the High Court yesterday (Wednesday). He is not expected to be sentenced until the New Year.