Ex-JJB chairman’s fraud trial abandoned

THE fraud trial of former JJB Sports chairman Sir David Jones has been abandoned due to his ill health.

He is accused of forging a bank statement to disguise a £1.5m loan.

According to the BBC, Judge Guy Kearl QC told a jury at Leeds Crown Court today that the case was to be abandoned “for the time being”.

Sir David has Parkinson’s Disease which the court has been told affects his movements and his ability to concentrate.

He has previously denied two charges of making a misleading statement to the market and one of using a false instrument.

His son, Stuart, a former head of marketing at the Wigan-based chain who lives in Bingley, has denied one offence of aiding and abetting Sir David’s use of a false instrument.

The case is separate to the criminal proceedings against former chief executive Chris Ronnie and JJB supplier David Patrick Ball.

Sir David joined JJB as a non-executive director in 2007 and became executive chairman in 2009. He stepped down for health reasons the following year. The group went into administration in October 2012, leaving debts of more than £150m and more than 2,200 people out of work.

 

 

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