Crook behind bars for 'betraying community'

MEGA MELA in Alexandra Park as the crowd flocked in to enjoy the entertainment

A SCHEMING businessman who tried to con up to £130,000 from Oldham Council and other organisations including The Arts Council for England, in order to line his own pockets, has been jailed.

Shaehzad Chaudhry made a series of bogus applications for funding, a court heard, including getting cash backing for Oldham's popular annual Mela in 2013 ­- an event that never even took place.

He also made false insurance claims for damage caused at the town's Alexandra Park during the previous year's event.

Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court heard Chaudhry, as chairman of the Oldham Mega Mela Group in 2012, had successfully obtained £10k from The Arts Council to help stage the event, a family festival designed to integrate communities with different backgrounds,

A further £10k was also handed over for the following year's planned event, after he told the Arts Council that Oldham Council were contributing £10,000, which was a lie.

The application was supported by two forged letters allegedly from Oldham Council, backing his bid for funding.

Though the 2012 festival went ahead, he had even then, submitted false information relating to other sponsorship obtained.

The court was told that family man Chaudhry (29), whose father had organised the same event for many years, had gained only £31k from his fraudulent activities over an eight-month period in 2012 and 2013, despite attempts to get far more cash.

He pleaded guilty to four separate counts of fraud by false representation.

Jailing Chaudhry for 14 months, Judge Mark Savill said: "You were thoroughly dishonest in a relatively complex way, depriving other organisations of legitimate funding.

Deceit

"Even as the net closed in on you, you maintained the deceit, and betrayed the community ethos you had previously promoted."

Graham Robinson, prosecuting, had told the court that the cost of the damage caused during the 2012 Mela had totalled £5,321, which was paid by the council who then invoiced the Mega Mela Group.

Months later however, repair estimates totalling more than £26k for the same work, were forwarded by solicitors acting for a firm called Route2Motivate8 which the Crown says Chaudhry was involved in. A second insurance claim for £72k for damage to the park and gardens was submitted by a firm calling itself K-R-A-M Landscaping. Inquiries later showed it did not exist, but the address of the bogus company was linked to another business run by Chaudhry.

The court was told Chaudhry had also been awarded £4,452 in funding by First Choice Home Oldham who administer the "Respect Our Communities Awards."

He had applied for funds for the 2013 event on behalf of the Mega Mela Group, to sponsor Asian artists of dance and music, and he continued to give firm assurances that the event would go ahead, until forced to confess that the police were involved.

A total of £17,500 was awarded by the Near Neighbours Programme, for four schemes including £5,000 for a cookery workshop and £5,000 for a multi cultural arts centre.

The court was told the bank accounts of Chaudry's Mega Mela Group perhaps gave a better picture of what was going on at the time.

While money from various groups and individuals was going in, there was little sign of cash going out to fund events.

Ahmed Nadim defending, said three years had elapsed since his clients offending, and he was now a different person: a family man with a young child, and responsibilities.

He said Chaudhry had not kept all the money he received, and had contributed some of it to another similar kind of festival.