A Nottinghamshire county councillor has been found guilty of fraud and tax evasion for establishing a fake heritage society and a cinema club to illicitly obtain funds. Jason Zadrozny, 46, an independent councillor, faces a custodial sentence after being convicted of nine counts of fraud and four counts of tax evasion on Monday.
Zadrozny chaired the Ashfield Heritage Society (AHS), which he created, and applied for grants designated for charitable causes. The court heard that he withdrew these funds in cash. Some of this money was used to purchase a house for over £70,000, with friends and fellow independent councillors Helen-Ann Smith and Thomas Hollis involved in the transaction. The property was later sold for £168,000, from which Zadrozny received a £68,000 sum described as a 'gift'.
Additionally, Zadrozny established a classic cinema club for fans of 'Carry On' films. He was found to have misappropriated funds from a £1,200 taxpayer grant awarded to this club.
Prosecutors stated that the AHS was a "scam" bank account created in 2018, with a non-existent address used on grant applications totaling thousands of pounds. Zadrozny claimed the cash withdrawn from the AHS account was handed over to former Ashfield District Council chairman Tony Brewer, who died in 2020. However, jurors rejected this defense, and Zadrozny's trial heard that financial records showed he had previously transferred £12,000 to Mr. Hollis for the house purchase.
When questioned by police, Zadrozny claimed Mr. Brewer, who he described as a "good" person, was responsible for the memorial restoration project. He was reportedly taken aback when officers pointed out that the individuals he named to corroborate his story were both deceased.
Zadrozny's defense also attempted to shift blame to Mr. Brewer, a former colleague and friend. Mr. Brewer's partner told the court she was upset by Zadrozny's attempt to implicate him.
Concerns were also raised about the cinema club's funds. When police investigated Zadrozny's handling of council money in 2021, they found that the cash from the cinema club's file did not match the denominations originally withdrawn. Zadrozny attributed this to swapping old paper notes for new polymer ones, a claim he agreed looked "fishy" and "a mess."
Lee Anderson, the Reform MP for Ashfield, called for Zadrozny to step down, stating that the councillor had "brought shame upon our area and local politics" and had "only ever been involved in politics for personal gain." Zadrozny was first elected in 2007 and was once the youngest council leader in Britain, heading Ashfield District Council at age 27.
Helen-Ann Smith, who provided evidence during the trial, described her relationship with Zadrozny as "brother and sister" but denied acting as a "front" for him or Mr. Hollis in the property purchase. Smith herself faced a court summons in 2019 for failing to pay council tax, which she attributed to being "dead busy."
Thomas Hollis, a deputy leader at Ashfield District Council, also faces calls to resign due to a history of criminal convictions, including harassment, criminal damage, and careless driving. He was fined £2,400 last year for failing to register a financial interest in the property. He was described by MP Lee Anderson as "Ashfield's number one public nuisance" and a "one-man crime wave."
His Honour Judge David Herbert KC indicated that Zadrozny was "plainly at risk of a custodial sentence" when he is sentenced in November.