Jared O'Mara: Sheffield MP attempted to use taxpayers' money 'to fund extensive cocaine habit', court told

Jared O’Mara represented as Sheffield Hallam between 2017 and 2019. Today, he is standing trial at Leeds Crown Court charged with eight counts of fraud. In total, he is accused of attempting to fleece over £30,000 from taxpayers by filing dishonest expenses for his time in office between June and August 2019.

At the first day of his trial at Leeds Crown Court today (January 23), a jury heard how O’Mara used the expenses system as “a source of income that was his to claim and use as he wished” – with a mind to funding “an extensive cocaine habit”.

None of the claims were ever paid out by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), who flagged them as incorrectly filed and even rang O’Mara on multiple occasions to try and hammer out the problems.

The court heard how it was his lead aide and co-defendant who blew the whistle on the alleged fraud and took it to South Yorkshire Police. Gareth Arnold, 31, of School Lane, Dronfield, reportedly rang parliamentary officers and the police to flag how the expenses were bogus in the summer of 2019, shortly after resigning from his position.

However, Arnold, too, is charged with six counts of fraud, with Mr Wright saying that his coming clean to the police “is not an excuse”. He says the prosecution’s case is Arnold knew the expenses he was filing were dishonest.

The third defendant is John Woodliff, 42, of Hesley Road, Shiregreen, who allegedly pretended to work for O’Mara as a ‘Constituency Support Officer’ while fraudulently claiming a salary, which the prosecutor called “a dishonest scam.” He, like his two co-defendants, is charged with a single count under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, said: “[The defendants] viewed taxpayers’ money that they administered as a source of income that was his to claim and use as he wished, not least in the enjoyment of his [O’Mara’s] extensive cocaine habit.

“The Defendants Arnold and Woodliff were old friends of Jared O’Mara and sadly were persuaded to go along with his dishonest claims.

“The money was not the defendant’s to claim, the invoices and claims made were false and untrue, and we say that the defendants all knew that yet were happy to go along with it.”

O’Mara did not attend court in person, and instead appeared – unshaven and in a black T-shirt – via video link from his home in Sheffield, where he was joined by a member of his defense counsel, Steve Garratt. Arnold and Woodliff both attended court and appeared in the dock.

The bogus expenses for non-existing work were being submitted to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), which itself was set up in the wake of the MP expenses scandal, the court heard.

The allegedly fraudulent claims include four invoices totaling £20,000 for ‘Confident About Autism SY’ – an autism support service that does not exist. O’Mara himself is autistic. Mr Wright told the jury O’Mara hoped the claim would “slip through… no doubt seeking to hide behind the fact that it related to his disability if ever challenged.”

A further £4,650 was claimed for training that was never undertaken by Arnold. Linked to some of this were allegedly fictitious contracts for John Woodliff, who did not work for O’Mara but was supposedly hired as a ‘Constituency Support Officer’ to do “odd jobs” for the MP, who was an old friend of his.

Mr Wright said: “The job was another fiction designed to generate a cash income to which both men were not entitled”.

Then, in February 2020, after O’Mara had already resigned and was under a police investigation, he emailed IPSA and allegedly lied that the enquiry was closed and no action was being taken against him, and that he was still owed payment for some of the invoices.

It was on July 2019 that Arnold rang IPSA to report the fraud, before giving a statement to South Yorkshire Police.

Mr Wright said: “[Arnold] described an undoubtedly sad state of affairs in which O’Mara was plainly unable to cope with the office he held, was in poor mental health and was heavily addicted to cocaine that he was abusing in prodigious quantities.”

It also means one of the allegedly fraudulent claims were made after Arnold had reported the offences to police.

O’Mara has denied all charges against him and reportedly maintains that all the invoices were genuine. Mr Wright said: “He will likely seek to blame IPSA, Parliament and his autism for any discrepancy that can be identified.”

Arnold has also denied his six charges of fraud and denies acting dishonestly. Mr Wright says the prosecution’s case is that this is “nonsense”, and will seek to prove that he knew the claims were false when he filed them.

He said: “He may had experienced a change of heart and gone to the police. Though whether that was because he was genuinely contrite or feared that an investigation was inevitable and wanted to try and escape his responsibility is a matter for you.”

John Woodliff denies his single count under the Proceeds of Crime Act. Mr Wright called the arrangement “a dishonest scam to get him a salary from the taxpayer for hanging about with an old friend”.

The case is expected to last until mid-February. The three defendants have been released on bail between hearings.

Jared O'Mara took the Sheffield Hallam seat for Labour from former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in the 2017 general election. He left the party in 2018 and before he stood as an independent candidate. He publicly resigned in July 2019 and did not stand for re-election.