The leader of Ashfield District Council set up a fake heritage group in a bid to defraud a council out of thousands of pounds, a court has heard.

Ashfield Independent councillor Jason Zadrozny is accused of setting up the Ashfield Heritage Society (AHS) in 2018 before applying for funding from Nottinghamshire County Council and transferring it into his personal account.

During a trial at Northampton Crown Court on Tuesday, prosecutors said he also failed to pay tax on four rental properties.

The 46-year-old, of Stanton Hill, pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of fraud and four counts of tax evasion.

Opening their case, prosecutor James Varley said that Zadrozny, who is also a Nottinghamshire county councillor, first opened a bank account in the name of Ashfield Heritage Society (AHS) in February 2018.

Jurors heard he applied for funding from the Councillors' Divisional Fund, a £5,000 pot made available to every representative by the county council, to support local organisations.

Three days after setting up the account, he applied for £7,500 of funding for the group, including £3,500 from his own allocation.

Varley said this was the first mention of AHS, which documents said aimed to be a "new society to support heritage projects in Ashfield".

The court heard that the address on the application form was given as 213 Forest Road, which does not exist.

The council issued the funds, which were sent directly to Zadrozny, who deposited them in the account he had previously set up, before withdrawing them in cash in March.

Prosecutors alleged part of the money was used to buy a house with friends on Forest Road, the same street as the false address for the AHS.

They said financial records show the defendant had previously transferred £12,000 to his friend Thomas Hollis for the house.

The property was later bought for more than £70,000 by another friend, Helen Smith, but Varley said the funds came from Hollis, including the money from Zadrozny.

A further £5,000 in cash was used to buy the house, which prosecutors said came from Zadrozny and was paid 14 minutes after he had withdrawn £2,000 from his bank.

He had also withdrawn £3,000 the previous day.

When the house was sold in September 2021, for £168,000, Smith paid Hollis £97,000 and more than £68,000 was "gifted" to Zadrozny.

Varley said that in August 2018, the defendant asked for a further £1,600 for AHS for "funding towards the cost of commemorative events, badges, poppies and road decorations".

Varley said that AHS was a "scam" set up by Zadrozny because he was "short of money".

The court heard that, in 2018, the defendant also set up the Classic Cinema Club (CCC) with district councillor Ciaran Brown, a fellow councillor.

Varley said the club was genuinely set up for people who enjoyed the "Carry On" films and was awarded £1,200 through the Councillors Divisional Fund.

He said the club never held any events and, over three days in June 2019, when the defendant's personal account was overdrawn, the money was withdrawn in cash.

Prosecutors said Zadrozny's plan was discovered in March 2021, when Catherine Mason, who was hoping to stand for election in Ashfield, was looking into the expenditure made by the CDF, and came across the AHS.

The month before, the defendant had applied for £625 in funding for the group, despite it not carrying out any events or work in the local community over two years.

Varley said, having seen social media posts about his conduct, Zadrozny called members of the council saying he "made a mistake" and that AHS no longer existed.

He also passed the blame on to a "respected local figure" and said he meant to get the £625 for the Kirkby Heritage Centre, but made a mistake.

Nottinghamshire County Council launched an investigation and later passed the details on to the police.

Continuing his opening statement, Varley said Zadrozny also failed to pay tax on four rental properties he owns.

The court heard Smith, Hollis and Brown have not been charged with any crime in relation to the investigation.

The trial continues.

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