What a pickle. 

Bloody hell! 
 

Great scoop, RoF. 
 

It’s something for a firm to take a freezing order against its own managing partner. To paraphrase Blackadder, they are more fucked than Jock McFucked, winner of the all highland ‘he’s fucked’ competition for five years running…

Well I still owe 100 percent of axiom Ince limited. To go work that out ! Didn’t freeze that did you ? 

Were August salaries paid? This hole in the accounts probably is the end of it. Feel v sorry for staff.

Don’t even try and sell my 100 percent owned firm. I own it still and you are all fucked !! 

Oof. Their insurer must be sweating bullets. Surely the end is imminent. No way they’re getting insurance next year. 

I'm no expert but I'm guessing this is quite bad.

If I ever see this man, I swear I will not be held responsible for my actions 

Cue the first moronic "why is anyone still there?!" comment.

How did you manage to scoop this, RoF? It doesn’t appear to be a public document. At least I can’t find it. You’ll be in big trouble if you’ve broken an order for this not to be reported.

Prags you dirty lil rat.
You make me look angelic. You will ROT. Greedy scumbag. 

Wonder which accountants collected money for the last audit. If I ever decide to run a scam I’ll make sure to have them on speed dial 

A reward for anyone who can find the rat and hand him in. Thieving lil’ dog. 

Clearly written by one of the morons still there….

No need for the question to which everyone already knows the answer…. Its because you cant find work anywhere else

His anal retention will never quite be the same again after prison

I think asking why associates are still there can be a valid question. Given Ince’s situation over the last few years, it’s hardly been somewhere to envisage a stable career. Maybe many have been trying to leave for some time, but other similar firms haven’t had vacancies. However, if there are any, especially partners, who have been hoping it will all somehow get better, I don’t have that much sympathy. 
 

Regardless, for those hoping or trying to leave, other firms might be questioning their judgment for not having left sooner.

What a mess. Feel for the employees. Bastard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_qx73igM_s

This solicitor gave a seven minute and 20 seconds interview [link as above] entitled "Oh, to be 21 again! by Pragnesh Modhwadia" in which he gave advice to his twenty-one year old self. This was in 2020 when he was aged 37. He started his educational journey at Queen Mary University and always knew he wanted to be a solicitor and as he had an entrepreneurial streak he wanted to own his own law firm. He had, at the time the video was made three offices [in Edgware, Mayfair and Birmingham], with a combined staff of 100 working in a ‘full service’ law firm. He states that being Managing Partner of Axiom Stone “works really well” for him.

He concludes: “ Live your lives, have lots of fun, have a plan and hopefully you’ll get there and you’ll be super successful. But the most important part of it is to enjoy the journey!”

What human behaviour and body language experts will make of the interview will be interesting and maybe ROF could keep us updated.

The SRA are to blame for this major fuck up with Plexus they should be held accountable for the this the SRA have known about this shady wanker for years and STILL they let this sale go through.

I think it is now fairly obvious what his plan has been all along.

Assuming this is all

true of course 

The RSA are a 100% responsible for this mess with regards Plexus!!The SRA had known about Pragnesh Modhwadia ages ago and yet they let this sale go through! It’s unforgivable and  they should be made to pay for this mess!! And that includes picking up the redundancies for those staff that have been shafted by not only the SRA and but the useless couple of scum bags that caused it all in the first place.. the ones that will suffer the most are those that keep the business ticking over the support staff f***king DISGUSTING…

A lot of stupid comments about why people are still at Axiom. Some have left, some are waiting to be TUPE'D across to other firms. Those jobs are secure and they will probably end up in a better position than before. A lot of clients stuck with Axiom and their work needs servicing so they will TUPE them to other more secure firms. This has already begun. 

This is serious shit and many people, at all levels, from the various entities will suffer, as a result of this bellend's dishonesty. And as I read some of the nasty comments on here, I ask myself: why is there such a disproportionate number of wankers in the legal profession?

 I am a moron still at Axiom and I can give you two reasons why some of us are here;

1 No one saw this coming other than the small group of wonking focktards who were in on it.  Prags was enthusiastic about growing and genuinely seemed to care about the ‘Axiom Family’.  Some questions were raised after the purchase of Plexus as that didn’t sit right (Ponzi scheme anyone?), but up until then we thought he had vision.  
 

okay, okay, so did Charlie Manson….

None of the partners were included in any management discussions whatsoever.  Other than the senior partner I think, but he is so senior no one even knows who he is.

2. Other than the aforementioned winking facktards, most of the people are really nice.  Proper nice, as in people you like having a drink with.  And the partners look after their juniors, and all look after their clients.

So don’t knock those of us who have been slammed sideways by this news and its consequences.

Also, those howling "Why are they still there?!?!?!" should bear in mind how time works.

- Applying for job.

- Waiting to hear back. 

- Waiting for interview

- Waiting for second interview

- Waiting for decision/ contract

- Handing in notice and then waiting out notice period. 

Each of these steps takes a greater or less amount of time. Assuming a three month notice period, and even possibly skipping a couple of the above, you're probably looking at at least 4 months, probably more. That takes us back to May, which (speaking as an ex-Salaried partner who didn't TUPE), was when things were coming to a head. 

Obviously, I'm sure that the same people will have been aware since 1994 that the firm was in trouble and that it was blindingly obvious to anyone commercially sensible that they should have jumped ship while in the womb, if not actually pre-embryonic. Good for you. Well done.

He’s legged it, probably to Dubai. SRA managed to fuck that up as well…. 

Well I said in previous report that the amount will make your eyes water.  It’s £40million more than most of us thought!!!!

ruined our lives.  We still hear as we believed that things would be ok after being bought out of administration by this robbing barsteward.  
 

can’t see it lasting much beyond September / October time.  
 

sad times and a lot of very angry people  

How was the sale of Plexus allowed with all this going on. SRA needs to be held accountable for their involvement in this and for approving the sale. 500 members of staff to be dragged back through this for no reason at all. What a mess

SRA , Receivers, Agents and Pincents all are to blame as well as Prags !

I blame the SRA.  They sanctioned the sales of Ince and Plexus to Axiom.  They were investigating these spivs when they sanctioned the sales.  This shit show is all down to the SRA.  An utterly incompetent regulator that couldn’t run a piss up in a brewery.  

Prags isn’t the Messiah, he’s just a very naughty boy. 

Is there any reason why Pragnesh is still a director on companies house? What’s going on? 

So the SRA knew he was dodgy and he’d been accused of misappropriating client money.  Despite this, they sanctioned the sales of Ince and Plexus to his company.  That meant that he gained control of their client accounts, too.

When do the resignations for crass stupidity and gross incompetence, begin?  Or will we see a Rubiales approach from the SRA’s senior management group?  

There needs to be a proper independent investigation into this debacle because our money is again going to be squandered as the SRA tries to clear up a mess of its own making. 

As a regulator, the SRA is beyond useless. 

Ince is cursed... each time, they seem to be jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.

Compared to Modhwadia, the Biles were altar boys. And Jan H. was a saint.

Wouldn't be surprising if the next purchaser of Ince was a resuscitated Ponzi himself. 

Very sad for all staff and lawyers indeed, hope they will head for better and safer ventures.

Anyone wonder why is that Prag still allowed to an active Director at companies house for Axiom. 

Oh how I laughed when the SRA let me buy Ince and Plexus. They’d been investigating for months and they still approved it.  
Wait until you hear the rest of it…….lolololol

Since May 2021 - £64m stolen

Who else at the firm knew about this and if not why did they not know.

What were the banks doing allowing movement of these funds.

Why did Plexus/Ince Management agree to sell to this firm, what checks did they do.

What were the banks doing allowing the movement of this money. 

You’ve been a very naughty boy., All naughty boy’s get caught in the end.

@08.34 - in the case of Ince there was little choice.  A private investor was very interested, had an ABS set up that he renamed Ince & Co and everything, but he delayed too long and the risks of an intervention were becoming too great.  PM stepped up with his offer and everything in place, regulated law firm and all, and persuaded Quantuma and The Ince Group Plc Board that all was good.  He was a solicitor and his firm in good standing the SRA were happy so that was good enough for the Administrators and the Board.  Without wanting to pass the buck, the SRA were threatening to intervene if Ince didn’t get a move on, gave Axiom a clean bill of health (it should go without saying that the regulator would not let a crook run a law firm) so Axiom it was.  
 

Rumour is that the SRA were investigating at the time of the Plexus sale.  Why did they let it happen?

Ask the questions;

1. How long have the SRA been investigating this man?

2. When exactly did the SRA notify Axiom of their concerns and how did Axiom respond - if at all?

I was given answers to these questions from a pretty reliable source- and if the information is correct, both the SRA and Axiom should be disbanded. Have always known that the SRA are a disgrace! Did the SRA approve the April takeover of Ince AND the later takeover of Plexis KNOWING at either of those times they had concerns with - or were even already investigating Pragnesh?

Hey Legal Eagle, I suspect you know the answer to your question

“Did the SRA approve the April takeover of Ince AND the later takeover of Plexis KNOWING at either of those times they had concerns with - or were even already investigating Pragnesh?”

but just in case you dont the answer is Yes to knowing at both times and Yes to already investigating. 
 

and Pinsents were the lawyers on both pre-packs. As others have said the SRA should be disbanded/are not fit for purpose and Pinsents better have good PI insurance….

The SRA when a managing partner steals client money: I sleep

The SRA when an overworked and anxious trainee makes a mistake after months of working in a hostile environment: you’re STRUCK OFF!

The SRA knew all about him when it sanctioned both sales.

It is time for the SRA to issue a statement explaining what on earth it thought it was doing.

So my questions and thoughts for the day:

(i) The SRA is about as useful as a boarded up, non-functioning, blocked, hole ridden toilet for a group of diarrhea sufferers who are stuck in a locked room with no windows or air filtration system!

(ii) Yes I had to look up how to spell diarrhea!

(iii) A freezing injunction for £57 million is pointless so late in the day as any decent fraudster with overseas connections will have already moved the money and assets out of the UK long before the idea of an injunction had even been considered

(iv) Why wasn't a world wide freezing injunction obtained?

(v) Any staff who are still with Axiom should be directly contacting law firms within the same region as their office and asking for a job -  recruiting good staff is not easy and there will be a sense of wanting to assist the staff (who are the true victims in this crime) and there is the added bonus of not having to pay a recruitment fee

(vi) Axiom staff should be contacting law firms NOW and not hoping that it will all sort itself out as it WILL NOT - Axiom is going down, the money will dry up and staff will not get paid

Remember - Procrastination is Opportunity's Assassin

(vii) Not looking forward to the medium to long term SRA reaction to this and how they will make it even more difficult for law firms to operate in such a hostile regulatory environment where the SRA prefer to focus on the soft easy targets rather than the true villains of the legal profession

The end!

My drinks bill when entertaining agents bankers and receivers was well worth it !  Novikov next month ? 

What happened to basic accounting systems? For example two people signing off payments or cash limits. All firms need to be worried.

I'd rather be a "moron" at Ince or Plexus than a sad little keyboard warrior afraid of his own shadow....

And the SRA remains steadfastly silent despite it bringing the profession into disrepute and undermining public trust in the profession.

If anybody receives a letter from the SRA based on some spurious “complaint”, don’t forget to remind the SRA of its own shortcomings when telling them to go take a flying fu@k at a rolling doughnut. 

I reckon he legged it just in time - either that or he's hiding in the toilet. How did he think he could get away this and who else was in on this? It is not possible for £64m to go missing starting from 2021 and no one notices. What about the accountants?  Or was Prags just "borrowing" the money and was going to put it back at a later date, once some of his property ventures had come to fruition? It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Feel very sorry for the staff - they have been shafted by a big time gambler!

Shout out to Capsticks preparing to bill hundreds of thousands on this disciplinary tribunal. 

You have to question Quantuma the IP … what DD did they do ? They have been involved in a lot of questionable transactions 

From what I understand the figure is lower than what was actually taken.  Staff are.... well, trying our best to get through this.  But there is rage and anger and disappointment, but mostly rage and anger.

The Senior Solicitor Seeking Solitude - absolutely right. The SRA focus on soft targets rather than the real villains because they don't give a flying f..k and can run rings around the SRA who clearly area as incompetent as hell. 

I'm guessing good old Prags would have known this would / could blow up and I would guess has moved money out a long time ago. 

I bet the sad reality is that even some of the people closest to him didn't know exactly was happening but there is no doubt others were in on this - as smart as he think he is - there is no way Prags has done this on his own!

Unfortunately, Prags is in the wind!  Entire family deleted social media accounts.  Rumours are he is in Dubai.  There is no extradiction when you have that kind of money.  Got suspended on the 10 August, it's now 1 Sept.  He's been in the wind since day 1.  SRA appears to be highly responsible for the continued actions of this man, which they have been aware of for years.  Wonder if they can be sued for what they allowed to happen?  Seems they have gone really quiet.

Praying for staff!!

This piece of utter vermin will get his comeuppance…he will pay for the rest of his life for this…extradited to Dubai or not…

His been humbled for his evil ways, don’t walk all over people, don’t over work people and pay them minimum wage, don’t take advantage of people, be good and righteous to your wife and family, understand that the people are human beings too, understand the things you do to people, that’s someone’s child, sister, wife. 

(ii) Yes I had to look up how to spell diarrhea!

And still got it wrong.

Having been on the screaming lash with Prags he was clearly a bit dodgy as he had a minder.  However,  he did like a good time. So do I. Even though I did get the feel of a wide boy about him, never in my wildest dreams did I consider him capable of the Great Train Robbery of client account plundering. What an utter spunk trumpet!  He has caused irreparable damage to his own outfit and to a top rank firm of the old school. Prags really is a bounder of the first water. My guess is that he is now munching down on some Mezze in Northern Cyprus... that's where I'd be with over £60M in me bin. I do hope the lawyers and support staff can get jobs as sadly, the train is coming off the tracks qt break neck speed.  The downfall of the firm has been scarilyrapid.  No doubt the directors, last heard of double deadlocking the door to their bunker and dodging questions from the lower ranks, have very serious questions to answer about what they knew, or ought to have known about what the f**k was going on financially.  Altogether an utter s**tshow. Namaste all!

Wonder if they pulled a ‘consolidator’ scam - where a consolidator/firm rapidly acquires/merges in other law firms (usually in trouble in first place) just to eventually access or nick the client account greens ! But usually organised criminals are involved in these and takes a lot of ‘buy in’ from at least some of players involved !

awful situ for rank/file staff tho

Prags liked to talk the talk and it was obvious that he didn't always know what he was talking about so was just blagging. He defo came across as a wide boy but portrayed himself as a family man who cared about people and humanity. Scary how deceptive some people are.  I'm almost tempted to think that something went very wrong with his ventures and he resorted to taking this money on the spur of the moment but I reckon I'm being naive esp if there is any truth that this started in 2021. Who was in on this with him and no matter where he is in the world - the world is a small place - someone somewhere will recognise him. He'll get exposed unless he is hiding in a cave! Feel for the real victims here - hope they secure jobs. What a train wreck. 

Prags was always a man never to be trusted.  One day he would be trying to borrower £100k for his PI from a client the next day in the auction room buying a £2m property, that evening buying bottles of champagne in a night club. He just up his firm at 3 year pqe, that being trained from a small time firm on top of a fruit and veg shop. Those who fell for the cash should have asked for source of funds. This story is well before 2021 and those firms acquired were all failing businesses with no succession planning and high PII and no one but Prags would buy them…. We all now know why ! Get out whilst you can, otherwise you are the successor to what was a firm set up on deceit. 

There are suggestions [above] that Pragnesh Modhwadia may have fled to a sunny place to while away the rest of his life.  But, as he’s only 40, and given the ever-increasing number of centenarians in the world, he’s potentially got a huge amount of time to fill.

Pragnesh Modhwadia is likely to find himself missing all the places and people that were special to him in Britain, especially those in London, thereby demonstrating the veracity of Samuel Johnson’s well-known saying :-

"Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford."
— Samuel Johnson

A former solicitor, who is alleged to have behaved in a way which was similar to the way in which Pragnesh Modhwadia is alleged to have behaved, couldn’t resist the pull of Britain after several years abroad as was reported in the “Estate Agent Today” on 08 December 2010

https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=3803&

and also in ROF on 09 December 2010

https://www.rollonfriday.com/news-content/ex-lawyer-cons-ps20m-victims-fund-bollywood-dreams

After some seven years abroad that other gentleman found the need to return home, and was arrested when he changed planes at Dublin airport.

Pragnesh Modhwadia spoke in June 2020 for half an hour to a local estate agent friend on this video and one can see how normal, pleasant and devoid of braggadocio he appears:-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7b8p61Xwqs

This makes the reports of what he has been alleged to have done even more astonishing!

The SRA sanctioned two sales out of administration to a company owned 100% by a man whom they were already investigating for serious professional misconduct.

That is nothing short of appalling.  

If all this is true, his UK exit will have been a long time in the planning.

Money transferred to various numbered offshore accounts - new passports/identities/residencies established well in advance.

I wouldn't be surprised if he is currently recovering from extensive plastic surgery in some unnamed developing country.

Apparently, Paraguay is on the up these days.

Lots to go yet

Starter will be the ex Plexus Partner being pursued by the SRA. She’ll blab. That’ll reveal her relationship with a certain Partner at Plexus, which will be the start of how the whole tale comes out eventually. The corruption ends with Pragnesh but started in 2019. 
 

Watch this space. Tick tock. 

What surprises me is that there are a number of thumbs down for each comment. This must be him !!!!  Who else would not agree with honest comments on theft, but the thief himself and his associates of course. I wonder if ROF can do a IP search on the thumbs down comments, and they may find where he is at. 

Can someone tell me whether the SRA are liable to pay for all of the stolen money. If so it then impacts all solicitors as the costs will have to go up. 

Think SRA forks out max £2m per claim subject to conditions - but think PII insurrrs and firm’s principals (personally) have to make good lost client money first…… horrible stress for affected clients 

bet cops / SFO are on it but won’t say anything publicly yet

Feel sorry for the hard working folk at plexus Scotland caught up in this since they transferred to Axiom Ince. Different entity, same issues? 

Surely the SRA, champions of consumer rights, wouldn’t sanction the sale of Ince and Plexus to a crook, leading to an intervention and litigation against the SRA running into millions of pounds? 

Surely the SRA won’t come ‘cap in hand’ to the solicitors who despise it claiming that the cost of practising certificates will need to rise again to pay for the Axiom Ince adventures which the SRA sanctioned? 

And surely solicitors won’t again have to pass on the increased costs, flowing from the SRA’s gross incompetence, to the very consumers which the SRA claims to wish to protect?

Surely none of these things will happen, will they? 

Re: Anon 04 September 23: I concur. The particularly cheeky comments get the greatest number of downvotes relative to upvotes. I wonder what he and/or his cronies think this will achieve? I bet a VPN is being used though. Downvote this!!

Hold up a sec, what about Michael Metliss - the chap who thinks he's well known, but no-one had ever heard of him until he was banned from a corner shop during COVID. He's supposed to be the Chairman of Axiom.

BDO are going to wonder why he was asleep at the wheel when this multiple car pile up happened.

Difficult to know what to believe. There is speculation that Prags has run off but the LSG is saying he has instructed Timur Rustem of Rustem Guardian Solicitors and ...is engaging with the regulator etc. ....His major concerns are for his employees, the clients and the company. 

Will have to see how this plays out. 

To answer the question of “ Anon 04 September 23 07:06” as whether the “the SRA are liable to pay for all of the stolen money.” this article dated 8 October 2000 from the Law Society Gazette describes the doings of former solicitor Dixit Shah in respect of the emptying of the client accounts of 15 law firms :-

https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/insurers-may-not-pay-in-6-million-fraud/30825.article

and this article dated 16 January 2015 in Legal Futures further stated in respect of him :-

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/law-society-wins-groundbreaking-injunction-struck-off-solicitor

that :-  “he “was involved in one of the profession’s most notorious law firm interventions – described at the time by the society as “the legal equivalent of the Great Train Robbery”. From 1998 to 2000, Mr Shah ran the Brandon group of firms, where the society alleges he misappropriated about £8m of client funds – an allegation which Mr Shah denies.

The Law Society intervened in Brandons in 2000, and the compensation fund has since paid out over £12m to former clients. ”

So it would appear likely that in the case of Pragnesh Modhwadia the compensation fund might well become involved.

Well done - there’s my house sale gone because my deposit has gone to wherever!!! So do I get my hefty deposit back? When? How long? Having to tell the young couple with a baby that I can’t complete on their flat so they can move on was difficult to say the least. How many lives has this affected?? What fantastic accounting systems they must have to let this happen - not😡😡

Whenever the number of thumbs up gradually increases, the number of thumbs down will suddenly increase exponentially, as if to deliberately offset the positive affirmations.

Nowhere is this truer than in relation to Anon 04 September's comment.

Latest from The Gazette:

Timur Rustem, senior solicitor of London firm Rustem Guardian Solicitors, which is representing Modhwadia, said: ‘Our client is fully engaging with both the regulator and individual solicitors acting on behalf of the company. He is the owner and is fully engaged to providing information and documentation as and when required. His major concerns are for his employees, the clients and the company.’

A government inquiry of the SRA is needed!! 

Well, if someone said that, then it must be true.

Phew.

So it's all OK then.

Well this evenings email (sent out of hours!) effectively telling us the end is nigh.  
 

My life (and many others) ruined by greedy conman.  Rot in hell you bastard! 

Nomad 07 September 23 21:32 - sorry to hear this. It is terrible. So many people will have mortgages, childcare responsibilities etc and are now left in terrible limbo due to the greed of one person! What goes round comes round - but this doesn't help right now. 

"Well this evenings email (sent out of hours!) effectively telling us the end is nigh."

...and to think, people were giving thumbs-down to all those posts telling you to get out while you still could.

For those who fell for the smart suit and deals that payouts will be over several years and we will be your sucessor practise, we can afford everything because my family and i own a development company etc....and i own the marketing company which i supported all the networking events (which by the way i still do own it).  

you were all greedy and easy to fool !

At least no one knows I got a signing bonus from my pal Prags. 🤑🤑

I'm one of contractors in house at one insurer client who has been  tupperd over but lost my title..now none practicing at least I get cheap insurance