The 38 year old was imprisoned for four years and eight months by Cardiff Crown Court in March last year.
He was found guilty of involvement in a £650,000 mortgage scam however a five-judge Appeal Court ruled that he had not made “false representations” during conveyancing transactions which were at the heart of the case.
Along with being found guilty on 16 counts of fraud and money laundering, Cornelius had also pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice in relation to the sale of his £89,000 Lamborghini sports car in breach of a restraint order under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Sir John Thomas, the lead judge at the Appeal Court, pinpointed flaws in the trial judge’s directions to the jury and quashed the convictions relating to the fraud charges.
The admitted offence remained on his record but as he had already served a year in jail he was freed with immediate effect.
The prosecution at the trial had claimed Cornelius acted as a conveyancing solicitor in mortgage transactions for eight properties in 2008 whilst also providing funds for the deals.
Crown lawyers argued that this amounted to a criminal “conflict of interest” since he should not have acted as a solicitor where he had a personal interest.
At trial Cornelius claimed that though he may have unknowingly been in breach of the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct, he had not acted dishonestly, said the judge.
Judge Thomas refused a request for a retrial but added: “Given his conviction for perverting the course of justice, quite apart from his conduct in these transactions, it is unlikely that he will ever be permitted to practise again.”
