Lincolnshire businessman convicted over £243,000 Innovate UK fraud

A businessman from a Lincolnshire village has been convicted after a court heard a government funding scheme was defrauded of £243,000 through false expenses claims and so-called ghost employees. Andrew Rendell-Read, 61, of Weston Hills near Spalding, was found guilty on two charges following a two-week trial at Lincoln Crown Court. The case related to claims made during a project connected to the automated manufacture of aerospace blades. Jurors heard the fraud involved Innovate UK, a government agency which reimburses part of the costs incurred by businesses taking part in supported projects. In this case, the court was told Innovate UK covered 41% of costs linked to work being carried out by VBC Instrument Engineering. Prosecutors said Rendell-Read, together with his wife and business partner Catherine McGreggor, obtained £243,000 by inflating project costs in quarterly submissions. The court heard this was said to have been done in two main ways - through false invoices and through ghost employees. Although described in court as ghost employees, the people named were said to be real individuals - McGreggor's niece and daughter. Prosecutors said they did not keep the money themselves and had instead been instructed to pay it into a joint account shared by McGreggor and Rendell-Read. The jury was told the offences took place over several years. False expenses claims were said to have been made between December 2015 and September 2018. Rendell-Read was also convicted of abusing his position as a director by transferring funds from business expenses between February 2016 and April 2019. McGreggor had already pleaded guilty to her role before Rendell-Read's trial. During the hearing, jurors were also told Rendell-Read had been assessed by a psychologist and found to have dyslexia. In police interviews, he denied responsibility for making payments or submitting invoices, saying he had no idea what was happening. Judge Catarina Sjolin-Knight granted Rendell-Read bail ahead of sentencing. He is due to be sentenced on 3 July and is expected to be sentenced alongside McGreggor. The judge warned that a custodial sentence was likely. The hearing at Lincoln Crown Court focused on findings that public funding was obtained through false claims linked to project costs and staffing. The prosecution case was that the money was secured by overstating expenditure and submitting dishonest claims for reimbursement under the Innovate UK scheme. Jurors convicted Rendell-Read after hearing evidence over the course of the trial. McGreggor's guilty plea was entered before the case against him was heard by the jury. The case concerns a defendant from near Spalding and a company involved in an aerospace-related manufacturing project in Lincolnshire.