Jared O'Mara: Ex-Sheffield MP's co-accused denies submitting fake invoices for time spent 'doing cocaine'

30-year-old Gareth Arnold, of School Lane, Dronfield, is on trial at Leeds Crown Court alongside Jared O’Mara, with O’Mara, aged 41, of Walker Close, Grenoside, accused of eight counts of fraud, and Arnold accused of six. A third defendant John Woodliff, 42, of Hesley Road, Shiregreen, is accused of pretending to work for O’Mara as a ‘Constituency Support Officer’ while fraudulently claiming a salary.

The alleged fraud offences relate to approximately £30,000 of invoices submitted to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) the independent body tasked with approving MPs’ expense claims, between June and August 2019 while O’Mara was a sitting MP. O’Mara was elected as a Labour Party MP for Sheffield Hallam in June 2017, and had stood down by the time of the December 2019 general election. The fraud offences are alleged to have been committed between June and August 2019, while he was a sitting MP.

Invoices submitted to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

Under cross-examination from prosecution barrister, James Bourne-Arton during the eighth day of the trial on Wednesday, February 1, Arnold was asked about the invoices submitted to IPSA for working including ‘media training’ and his services on ‘retainer,’ prior to beginning a role as O’Mara’s ‘Chief of Staff’ on June 1, 2019.

Mr Bourne-Arton said: “You weren’t claiming money for the time you spent with Mr O’Mara, doing cocaine...and discussing Socrates and Plato?”

“Correct,” Arnold said.

Arnold was also asked about invoices he submitted to IPSA for ‘day rates’ concerning services he provided to O’Mara in early 2019. He said he had submitted the invoices for ‘two lots of two days,’ relating to services including ‘media training and reputation management’.

Arnold said that he could not give ‘specific dates’ for when he provided the services, when asked, and also said he could not give a date of just one of the four ‘day rates' he invoiced for because he did not have his calendar in front of him. After checking he had ‘not kept records as well’ as he thought because things were more ‘informal’ with O’Mara than his other clients, Arnold said.

Mr Bourne-Arton referred to Arnold’s police interview in August 2019, during which he said he ‘kept a full diary of everything’ and had a ‘bundle’ of evidence concerning the work carried out he could provide them with; but Mr Bourne-Arton said this evidence has never been produced – to police, IPSA or to the court.

He asked Arnold: “Do you understand that the prosecution say you’ve done no work. Do you think it would be helpful to remember any dates on which you did some work?”

Arnold replied: “I’ve sent the dates to my solicitor, but don’t have them to hand.”

Arnold said he had not initially expected to be paid for the help he provided O’Mara with between January 2019 and June 1, 2019 – when his full-time contract as O’Mara’s Chief of Staff began – but said the then Sheffield Hallam MP told him to claim for the work carried out in the months leading up to him taking on the role; and also told him he could backdate claims.

Mr Bourne-Arton asked Arnold why he had submitted claims for services rendered in January, February and March 2019, but had not done the same for April and May 2019. Arnold said IPSA had rejected the previous invoices for that period, and could not see the point in submitting additional ones.

“Is it because you hadn’t done any work,” Mr Bourne-Arton asked.

Arnold replied: “No, that isn’t the case.”

‘I was told to use the postcode for Penistone Road McDonald’s on an invoice’

Prosecutors allege that Confident about Autism South Yorkshire (CAASY) is a fictitious organisation. Arnold said he was under the impression CAASY was a ‘trading name used by John Woodliff,’ his co-accused.

Arnold said he ‘assisted’ O’Mara in both creating and submitting invoices for CAASY, under his ‘direction’; and claimed he created the CAASY invoices believing O’Mara had the ‘originals’.

Mr Bourne-Arton asked Arnold why he had used the postcode for the Penistone Road McDonald’s, which is located in the Hillsborough area of Sheffield, on one of the invoices submitted for CAASY. Arnold said O’Mara had asked him to use that postcode because Woodliff was ‘sensitive’ about having his ‘personal information’ used, following a previous expenses ‘leak’ affecting O’Mara which had resulted in him receiving bad press.

Arnold said he became concerned about the CAASY invoices being ‘fraudulent’ O’Mara repeatedly failed to provide him with the ‘original’ invoices, and subsequently raised those concerns with South Yorkshire Police on July 2, 2019.

Mr Bourne-Arton asked Arnold why he failed to tell O’Mara he had reported him to the police, and following this, why he both continued to work for O’Mara and submit CAASY invoices he believed could be fraudulent to IPSA.

On why he didn’t tell O’Mara he had gone to the police, Arnold said: “I don’t know. I thought I didn’t want to add more stress to his life. I didn’t think it was that relevant because most of the conversations [with the police] weren’t about invoices. I did have reservations about his mental health. I knew DS Shields [Detective Sergeant Andy Shields] had spoken to him in the past about this.”

Responding to why he continued to submit CAASY invoices to IPSA after going to the police he said: “I didn’t think they were ever going to pay it.”

Mr Bourne-Arton asked: “Was Mr O’Mara forcing you?” Arnold responded: “He was persistently asking me.”

“Why didn’t you say ‘no’,” asked Mr Bourne-Arton, to which Arnold responded by saying he ‘didn’t want to end up with a situation where he fired all his staff again,’ resulting in O’Mara’s office coming to a standstill and him ‘sitting there being an absentee MP’.

Cocaine use

When asked about how many times he had done cocaine with O’Mara, Arnold said he had taken cocaine at O’Mara’s flat on ‘two or three occasions,’ but stressed he had ‘never actually seen’ O’Mara take the Class A drug himself.

“He must have taken it in the bathroom,” Arnold said, adding that on the occasions he did take cocaine at O’Mara’s flat that he too would adjourn to the bathroom to consume it. He also told the jury he believed he had paid for his own cocaine on two out of the three occasions he referred to.

“Mr O’Mara didn’t give you drugs,” asked Mr Bourne-Arton, to which Arnold responded: “Correct”.

Arnold confirmed that O’Mara used the word ‘goose’ as a slang term to refer to cocaine. Mr Bourne-Arton asked Arnold to explain what was meant by the following message, which Arnold sent to O’Mara on May 18, 2019 and has been provided to the jury in evidence: “I’ll walk down. Invite the goose as well. I’ll bring the OJ and make sure you’ve got ample fags because I’ve got some ideas and a connection I’ve made to help launch UTK.”

Arnold indicated this meant he ‘hoped there would be some cocaine in the bathroom’ by the time he got there. He also stated that they would both keep their cocaine in the bathroom at O’Mara’s flat – and neither would discuss the fact they were going off to take it, and said such discussions would have been ‘too much of a formal process’.

UTK refers to Untied Kingdom – which Arnold previously told jurors was the account O’Mara had plans to use to upload videos of him giving speeches because he struggled with public speaking.

Arnold also suggested that O’Mara’s cocaine use was an ‘open secret in Sheffield’.

Mr Bourne-Arton referred to evidence of cash withdrawals made by O’Mara during the period that Arnold was working for him as his ‘Chief of Staff’ in June 2019. He asked Arnold whether he was aware that O’Mara had made a withdrawal of £7,150 around that time.

“I wasn’t privy to Mr O’Mara’s personal finances, so I didn’t know,” Arnold said, adding that he ‘wouldn’t be surprised’ if O’Mara was spending his money on ‘alcohol, cocaine and cigarettes’.

Mr Bourne-Arton asked Arnold if he knew that O’Mara was ‘spending more money than he was earning’.

Arnold responded by saying ‘not really, no’ and said he was aware that O’Mara was spending £50 a day on cigarettes.

“How did you afford your own cocaine habit?” Mr Bourne-Arton asked. Arnold replied: “I wouldn’t call it a habit, the occasional £50 isn’t a lot of money.”

Mr Bourne-Arton continued: “The two of you decided to fund your cocaine habit or addiction by submitting fraudulent invoices.”

Arnold responded: “No.”

In response to a question from the jury concerning whether he was in work/and or earning any money between January and the end of May 2019, Arnold responded by saying he was working as a freelance consultant for an individual with an e-commerce business, for which he was receiving a monthly payment of approximately £2,000, and also had other ‘titbits of work’.

The three defendants deny the charges they face. The trial continues.