A fake barrister from Abbey Wood who pocketed £21,000 after handing out ‘legal advice’ has been jailed for two years.

Leonard Ogilvy, 51, of McLeod Road, had two clients who were seeking advice on employment law and another who needed help with a divorce settlement.

The three victims paid him an initial consultation fee between £120 and £150 with the fraudulent barrister demanding more money for further legal advice.

Two of his victims didn’t go much further than that, but one of them alone paid £19,500 in legal fees.

One of the victims grew suspicious of Ogilvy’s credentials and contacted the Bar Counsel and the Law Society.

The groups told her that Ogilvy was not registered, although he tried to claim to her that he was registered but “not practicing”.

Ogilvy was taken to Southwark Crown Court where he was found guilty of three count of fraud and wilfully pretending to be a barrister.

He was sentenced today, July 5, to two years in prison.

Detective Constable Gavin Popplewell, of the Met’s Complex Fraud Team, said: “Ogilvy is a serial conman who posed convincingly as a barrister, persuading vulnerable individuals in their hour of need to part with often large sums of cash for legal advice he did not, nor was qualified to provide.

“If other people believe they have also fallen victim to him, I would urge them to contact police via Action Fraud.”

Ogilvy was found not guilty of two further counts, one of pretending to be a barrister and one of fraud by false representation.