Hove legal secretary bailed on £500k theft charges

A legal secretary charged with stealing almost £500,000 while working for a Hove law firm has been bailed to appear before a crown court judge.

Leanne Harris, 25, appeared at Brighton Magistrates’ Court today charged with seven counts of theft.

She is alleged to have stolen the money while working for Arscotts, the solicitors, in Lansdowne Place, Hove, from 2008 to 2010.

She is also said to have taken more than £60,000 from an elderly lady for whom she had power of attorney.

Harris, who lives in Gildredge in the village of Whitesmith, near Hailsham, was bailed to appear at Lewes Crown Court on Friday 11 November.