The Coroners Court of Victoria has launched an investigation into the death of lawyer John Adams, the former director of a suburban law firm who allegedly lost up to $100 million of client funds in an apparent Ponzi scheme.
The father of four was quietly buried at a private ceremony in Lorne on October 26. His decades-long colleague and business partner at AMS Ivanhoe Lawyers, Shane Maguire, did not attend the funeral.“The court can confirm that the death of John Adams has been referred for coronial investigation. As this is an active investigation, no further comment can be made,” the spokeswoman said.
This masthead can also reveal that just $80,000 was found in the law firm’s trust accounts after Adams’ death, which was not enough to cover disbursements to investors for the following month, according to a source with knowledge of an investigation by the Victorian Legal Services Board who is not authorised to speak publicly.
The source said none of the other employees or directors at the firm knew where the money had gone, and there is no suggestion that any other person at AMS other than Adams is suspected of wrongdoing.One investor, who wished to remain anonymous, estimated he and his family are at risk of losing more than $1 million after entrusting Adams with their money since the late 1960s.
The investor sent a letter of demand to the law firm last week, claiming to be a victim of “long-running financial fraud”.
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