Council leader Jason Zadrozny found guilty of fraud and tax evasion

Ashfield District Council leader Jason Zadrozny has been found guilty of fraud and tax evasion.

Zadrozny, of Stanton Hill, was accused of setting up a fake heritage group to defraud Nottinghamshire County Council out of thousands of pounds.

Prosecutors also alleged he failed to pay tax on four rental properties.

The 46-year-old, who served as an Ashfield Independents councillor on the county council, was found guilty of nine counts of fraud and four counts of tax evasion.

The verdicts came after a jury at Northampton Crown Court had deliberated for nearly 11 hours.

Zadrozny was told by the judge he will be sentenced on 27 November, and was "at risk of an immediate custodial sentence".

Thanking jury members for their "care and attention" during the trial, the judge added the council leader would be given unconditional bail until his sentencing hearing.

During the trial, jurors were told Zadrozny had set up the Ashfield Heritage Society in 2018 before applying for funding from Nottinghamshire County Council, which he then transferred into his personal account .

This included £7,500, requested three days after setting up a bank account for the society, which Zadrozny - who was a county councillor at the time - claimed was "to support heritage projects in Ashfield".

The council issued the funds and they were sent directly to Zadrozny, who deposited them in the account, before withdrawing them in cash in March.

Prosecutors alleged part of the money was used to buy a house with friends.

They said the fraud came to light in March 2021, when Catherine Mason, who was hoping to stand for election in Ashfield, was looking into the council's expenditure and investigated the setting up of the heritage society.

The county council launched an investigation and subsequently passed the details on to the police.

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