Sheffield MP took drugs

A Labour MP attempted to claim thousands of pounds on expenses while in office – to fund a cocaine habit.

 

The CPS said former MP Jared O'Mara viewed taxpayers' money as "a source of income that was his to use as he wished".

 

The 41-year-old represented the Sheffield Hallam constituency from 2017 to 2019 and has been found guilty of 6 counts of fraud after making fraudulent expense claims in the region of £24,000. 

 

He was placed on trial after he denied that he submitted "dishonest" invoiced to IPSA, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, between June and August 2019.

 

Jurors at Leeds Crown Court were told that 4 claims, worth a total of £19,400, were from a "ficticious" organisation named Confident About Autism South Yorkshire, which in actual fact referred to a friend of O'Mara's friend, named John Woodcliff.

 

Mr Woodcliff was also the subject of a false contract of employment as a constituency support worker submitted by O'Mara.

 

The former MP was cleared over 2 other fraud charges over invoices regarding work that wasn't carried out by another friend of his, Gareth Arnold. In February 2020 O'Mara falsely told IPSA that a police investigation into him had ended, and that he should be paid a total of £4,650 over two invoices.  

 

Woodcliff was found not guilty of one fraud charge. Arnold was cleared of three fraud charges and found guilty of three others.

 

PM Law 

Sheffield Solicitors