Ex-Labour MP Jared O'Mara, 41, 'falsely claimed £30,000 in expenses to 'fund ... trends now
A former Labour MP falsely claimed around £30,000 in expenses in a 'brazen fraud' to fund a 'prodigious' cocaine habit, a court heard today.
Jared O'Mara, 41, who was MP for Sheffield Hallam for two years, regarded 'taxpayers' money as a source of income that was his to claim and use as he wished, Leeds Crown Court was told.
The MP, who is autistic, even allegedly invented a fictitious autism organisation to try and claim thousands of pounds in faked expenses.
Prosecutor James Bourne-Arton said O'Mara was in 'dire need of cash' as he was funding a cocaine habit and possibly 'living beyond his means.'
Former Labour MP Jared O'Mara falsely claimed around £30,000 in expenses in a 'brazen fraud' to fund a 'prodigious' cocaine habit, a court heard yesterday
But he said O'Mara 'appears to maintain' that his claims were 'all genuine and that he didn't act dishonestly.'
O'Mara, of Walker Close, Sheffield, has denied eight counts of fraud by false representation. He appeared in court by video-link yesterday.
His chief of staff Gareth Arnold, 30, of Dronfield, Derbyshire, denies six of the same fraud offences.
John Woodliff, 43, a friend of the MP, of Hesley Road, Sheffield, denies a single fraud offence that he falsely claimed to be a constituency support worker.
Mr Bourne-Arton told the jury it was a 'very straightforward case of fraud' involving invoices for services that 'were a fiction' and making 'dishonest claims for work that hadn't been done.'
He said the MP's claims were submitted to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) – set up in the wake of the MPs expenses scandal – as a means of acquiring extra income for the 'enjoyment of his extensive cocaine habit.'
Co-defendants Arnold and Woodliff were 'old friends' persuaded to go along with the 'dishonest claims,' the jury heard.
O'Mara, who was elected as Labour MP in June 2017 and remained in office until he stepped down ahead of the December 2019 general election, was said to be 'fully aware of the claims that were being made and knew that they were false.'
The 'fraudulent' claims were made in 2019 and exposed when Arnold went to the police to report what was happening.
He also told police he spoke to the mental health crisis team the day before to report the MP who was suffering a 'severe psychotic
