Teen plunders thousands from Freshfields
A teenager on work experience at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has been jailed for five months after stealing thousands of pounds from the magic circle law firm.
Titilayo Olaifa, who was on placement in Freshfields' accounts department through the Career Academies UK internship programme, stole 11 cheques and wrote six totaling £60,000 to herself.
Four of the cheques were stopped before they could be cashed, but two others, for a total of £13,500, were processed and the money withdrawn. Freshfields' bank has written down the cost of cashing the cheques with neither the firm or its clients having to fund the theft.
A spokesperson for Freshfields said: "We're committed as ever to the Career Academies UK programme. This is an isolated and regrettable incident."
Olaifa, from East London, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday (8 July) after pleading guilty to one count of theft and one of "fraud by abuse of position" at a hearing in June 2007.
Olaifa, now 19, completed two placements at Freshfields. The first between July and August 2005 and the second in June 2008.
The Career Academies UK internship programme provides six-week paid placement opportunities to typically middle achieving students from non-traditional backgrounds.
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Readers' comments (49)
Jean | 14-Jul-2008 11:38 am
Race/nationality
This is not a comment about whether one's culture and/or upbringing make one more or less likely to behave in a certain way, but just to clarify some terms, 'race' and 'nationality' are not the same. Whatever one thinks about Nigeria, Nigerian people's RACE is not 'Nigerian', it is 'Afro-Caribbean.' Nigerian is their NATIONALITY.
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Anonymous | 14-Jul-2008 11:40 am
Re: race nothing to do with it?
Cynical Cynthia, could you give us a clue which firm?
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Anonymous | 14-Jul-2008 3:59 pm
Race and Deportation
Actually a Nigerian is an African and not an Afro-Caribbean. Secondly, re the comment requiring that she be deported post her prison sentence, surely the fact of her Nigerian name does not preclude her from being a British citizen.
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Anonymous | 26-Jul-2008 9:25 pm
Teen plunders Freshfields
Dr Martin Luther King Jr's dream that one day people of colour will be judged not on the colour of their skin but on the content of their character is one I hold dear. As an Afro-Canadian /American with limited exposure to Nigerians I query whether, as one reader commented, her conduct was due to her being Nigerian. Does she come from a family and/or culture where appropriating or taking whatever one desires is an admirable quality? Couldn't it be that she is both Nigerian and British?
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Anonymous | 29-Jul-2008 4:09 pm
Teen plunders thousands from Freshfields
As a city lawyer with a Nigerian origin I could only sigh when I read all the comments below. I am infuriated and yet again embarrassed that some IDIOT has given the world another reason to associate Nigerians with fraud. Will this never end?
Not all Nigerians are fraudulent and please let's get something clear – fraud, or whatever criminal behaviour, is most certainly not our culture! Indeed there have been a plethora of cases about greedy, lazy, inconsequential Nigerians who just want to get rich quick without doing the hard work and for that reason I don't blame the illiterates who think this behaviour is our way of life.
The majority simply know right from wrong but the minority, who don't know or choose not to behave with decorum, always get the spotlight!
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Anonymous | 1-Aug-2008 1:10 pm
The young people of East London
"Idiot gal"*
*in an East London accent
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Anonymous | 8-Aug-2008 4:07 pm
Titi has been involved in more fraud
The girl is a professional fraudster with a decieving angelic face, and pretentious sophisticated and well mannered behaviour!
ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT SHE'S A SOPHISTICATED, SMART WHITE-COLLAR CRIMINAL!
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Anonymous | 13-Aug-2008 2:14 pm
Teenage Stress
I think that it is this sort of delinguent behaviour that causes other youngsters to be given a very bad name, "What the hell was she thinking?" I wish that i had her opportunity to work at such a reputable firm in the UK.
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Anonymous | 19-Aug-2008 7:43 pm
SHE IS NOT A GHANIAN
can Nigerians stop stealing Ghanaain passports and puting their names on tthem.I am fed up of hearing these stories its giving ghana a bad name its happening in Italy and countries Nigerians find it difficult to ebnter due to visa denisal by the embassies and consulates. the it is an every day occurance in south africa the embass=y staff are called to the police station to find a Nigerian claiming to be Ghanian yet cannot speak a word any of the many dialects in Ghana
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