A Weston Hills businessman who is accused of defrauding a Government agency during a funding project for aerospace blades was present during quarterly reviews of the scheme, a court was told.
Andrew Rendell-Read, 61, is alleged to have extracted a profit of £260,000 from Government agency Innovate UK in a joint fraud operated with his wife and business partner, Catherine McGreggor.
Lincoln Crown Court heard the vehicle for the fraud was a Wellingborough based engineering company, VBC Instrument Engineering (VBC), of which the couple were both directors.
Prosecutors claim the husband and wife defrauded Innovate UK by submitting false invoices and the costs of two ghost employees during a funding project related to the automated manufacture of aerospace blades.
Jurors heard evidence from monitoring officer Brian Cumming who was employed by Innovate UK to review the project on a quarterly basis.
Mr Cumming confirmed the project was launched in October 2015 at VBC with both Mr Rendell-Read and his wife present in meetings along with a representative from the University of Sheffield.
The court heard Mr Cumming was responsible for reviewing the costs and progress of the project on a quarterly basis.
“The assumption is it is being done appropriately,” Mr Cumming explained.
Mr Cumming said the quarterly meetings initially took place at the premises of VBC in Wellingborough and then moved to the University of Sheffield where the robotic equipment was assembled.
Prosecutor Matthew Moore-Taylor asked Mr Cumming to confirm if Mr Rendell-Read was present during these quarterly meetings.
Mr Cumming replied: “Generally, all of the meetings.”
Under defence cross-examination, Mr Cumming conceded the quarterly review did not include a forensic analysis of the costs.
Mr Cumming agreed Mr Rendell-Read was the person who dealt with technical matters in the reviews and missed one of the meetings because he was away on business in China.
He also accepted that costings were instead explained by VBC’s project manager who was the point of contact for the company.
Mr Cumming also agreed that the technical application of the project was very successful.
As part of the project Innovate UK reimbursed 41 per cent of the costs incurred by VBC, the court heard.
Mr Moore-Taylor alleged the fraud simply operated by VBC inflating the the cost of the project through false invoices and two ghost employees.
The jury heard McGreggor has pleaded guilty to her involvement in the fraud but Mr Rendell-Read, of Broadgate, Weston Hills, Spalding, denies two fraud offences and a third charge of possessing forged invoices.
Mr Rendell-Read denied being involved in the administration of the business when he was interviewed by the police, the court was told.
Mr Moore-Taylor said it was the defence case that Mr Rendell-Read was left in the dark by his wife and did not get involved because of his dyslexia.
It is alleged Mr Rendell-Read made false expenses claims relating to Innovate UK between December 3, 2015 and September 11, 2018.
Mr Rendell-Read also denies abusing his position as a director of VBC Instrument Engineering by transferring funds from business expenses between February 10 2016 and April 18 2019.
He also faces a third charge of possessing articles for use in fraud, namely forged invoices, between February 10 2016 and August 11 2018.
The trial is expected to last two weeks and continues at Lincoln Crown Court.
