Ruth Harris

Practice Areas

Ruth leads the Financial Crime & Regulatory Team at Hodge Jones & Alen, bringing over 20 years of experience of defending criminal cases to this role. She has defended cases investigated and prosecuted by authorities such as the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the National Crime Agency (NCA), the Insolvency Service and Trading Standards. She has successfully defended those responding to allegations such as conspiracy to defraud through boiler rooms, missing trader and long firm fraud; cheating public revenue including Covid related offences; offences relating to market manipulation and all forms of money laundering.

Ruth has an enormous breadth of experience in dealing with complex, multi-handed and frequently multi-jurisdictional trials. She relishes acting in cases which have voluminous material and complicated disclosure issues. She is adept at managing such trials, dealing with teams of counsel, solicitors, experts and witnesses to bring cases to successful conclusion. Ruth is aware that for many of these cases, clients are obliged to seek public funding and is committed to accepting cases in these circumstances. She is conscious that those facing such complex matters, but reliant on legal aid, should also have access to the most experienced and able representation.

The proficiency Ruth has developed in defending weighty, often high-profile trials, has allowed her to build the skills to adeptly intervene in matters at the investigation stage. Her experience of how cases develop and need to be defended help her to assist clients at commencement of an investigation, seeking to conclude or limit matters before proceedings start. Her clients are largely professionals and reputation management is at the forefront of her mind in each case.

Ruth defends complex, serious crime and frequently acts in cases that have both a serious crime and financial crime element, allowing Ruth to bring all her expert knowledge and skills in this area to good effect.

She confidently advises on matters flowing from criminal investigation including restraint, asset seizure and lawfulness of search warrants. Ruth is also well-equipped to deal with regulatory issues which may arise from criminal investigation.

Professional Memberships

• The London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association

• The Fraud Lawyers Association

Work Highlights

R v A: Acted for one of eight defendants alleged to have misled investors through the sale of carbon credits and diamonds in a multi-million pound ‘boiler room’ fraud. The trial collapsed due to disclosure issues surrounding the revelation of an unqualified expert.

R v B: Acted for client facing multiple charges of fraud, money laundering, theft and neglect relating to care provided to vulnerable adults.

R v B: Acted for client who was the sole director of the company at the time of a winding up order. He faced three charges all relating to the accounting, management and record keeping of that company.

R v M: Acted for one of the defendants in this FCA prosecuted matter alleging fraudulent trading in a case involving carbon credits. Successfully negotiated limited basis of plea secured a lenient sentence. Acted in the extraordinarily complex confiscation proceedings that followed with positive outcome for defendant.

R v B: Defendant accused in relation to text scam fraud, where stolen funds were funnelled through multiple mule bank accounts.

R v R: Criminal property case including allegation of involvement in an Organised Crime Group where context to evidence of involvement rested on intercepted data from an Encrochat enabled device.

R v Y: Conspiracy to commit fraud by abuse of position of trust, fraudulent trading and conspiracy to transfer criminal property relating to a sovereign wealth fund. Matter investigated by NCA.

R v A: Multi-handed trial with tens of thousands of pages of evidence, alleging cyber-enabled fraud where emails were intercepted and redirected, misleading people involved in the financial transaction to divert funds into mule bank accounts.

R v S: Multi-handed HMRC matter alleging VAT fraud after successfully securing a reduction in a previous confiscation order for this defendant of several millions of pounds

A: Successfully argued removal of Account Freezing Order after submitting that the account was being used as an informal family trust and not for money laundering.

R v T: Company Finance Director accused of fraud by abuse of position of trust.