Jury retires to consider fate of fraudster’s lawyer son

Tuesday 29th March 2011, 2:57PM BST.

Advocate Justin Michel (left) arrives at the Royal Court behind his defence lawyer, Advocate Michael Preston (right)

A JURY has been told not to convict a Jersey lawyer of perverting the course of justice based simply on the sins of his father.

Justin Peter Michel is accused of helping his accountant father, Peter Michel, in a multi-million-pound fraud in a bid to stop his wealth being confiscated by the authorities.

Following the Island’s most complex money-laundering investigation, Peter Michel was jailed for six years in 2007 for a catalogue of offences and had just short of £10 million confiscated.

For the past two weeks his son Justin, an advocate, has been on trial accused of plotting with his father to cover up some of his wealth by accepting more than £1.1 million in cash, property, shares, artwork and sports cars.

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