My lawyer, my accuser

Former chief executive officer of the Medical Associates Hospital Simone Khouri, and her husband Richard Khouri, have come out swinging against their former lawyer and chairman of the hospital, Conrad George, by filing a complaint against him with the General Legal Council (GLC).

They are charging that George breached attorney-client privilege and acted with a conflict of interest when he, along with the hospital's board, ousted them from their positions.

In a six-page affidavit filed with the GLC in February, the Khouris allege that George, while acting as chairman of the board of the hospital, used "personal and confidential information" that he garnered while in the position as their attorney, which he held for more than a decade, to 'plot' their removal from the hospital and subsequently 'ruin and endanger their lives'.

ambushed

Khouri alleges that George had summoned her to his offices on May 15, 2014, in what she believed was to be a regular meeting with her lawyer. Instead, she was ambushed by other members of the board of the hospital, who, along with George proceeded to level numerous accusations against her and her stewardship of the hospital.

In her affidavit, Mrs Khouri claims that during the meeting, "I was verbally abused and threatened and was also denied legal and independent representation ... . I denied the allegations and made every effort to defend myself only to receive the response 'we don't believe you'. My attorney, Mr George, was an enthusiastic participant in my vilification".

According to Mrs Khouri, George tried to coerce her into signing a resignation letter that was authored by him.

She claimed that when she refused to sign, George advised the hospital not to honour the employment contract of her husband and to make public accusations about her. These, she said, damaged her chances of gaining employment locally and overseas, and have led to the financial ruin of her family and public assassination of her character.

"As our personal attorney, we unconditionally trusted Mr George and have been grievously harmed by his actions. Our lives have been destroyed by him and we are still trying to come to terms with his wrongful and unlawful actions against us," claimed Mrs Khouri.

In his response to our news team, George described the allegations levelled against him by the Khouris as completely ridiculous.

"The Khouris have made a terrible error and are currently under police investigation for fraud, and I only acted in my capacity as the chairman of the board of the hospital," asserted George.

"Not one thread of evidence given to me, as their attorney, was ever used against the Khouris. In fact, the only information that was used to remove them were the numerous irregularities that were found in the financial audit of the hospital."

George also denied allegations that he called Mrs Khouri to intimidate her after she refused to sign the resignation letter he had drafted.

"I called her to beg her, as her friend of many years, to protect herself and to pay the money back. Despite this messy incident, I have always been completely fair and open with the Khouris for the many years that I have known them," declared George.