Belinda Sarkodie, a property lawyer in England, submitted timesheets for the same hours to two firms when she was also meant to be working full-time for a third firm.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) ruled that Sarkodie had breached the code of conduct for solicitors by misleading all three firms.

She denied misleading the firms and told the tribunal that she “took on three simultaneous roles to distract her from her poor health and the isolation she felt during the pandemic”.

However, the tribunal said her evidence “lacked credibility” and that she was “motivated by financial gain”.

She was struck off the roll of solicitors and ordered to pay costs of nearly £9,000.