THE founder of Kings Science Academy in Bradford and two members of staff have been handed a jail sentence for defrauding the government out of £69,000.
Sajid Raza, 43, who set up Kings Science Academy, and his sister Shabana Hussain, 40, made payments from Department for Education grants into their own bank accounts, BBC News reported.
The grants were given to set up the free flagship school in 2011, which opened in 2012.
A third defendant, Daud Khan, 44, facilitated the fraud. The three were convicted following a trial in August.
Raza was jailed for five years, Hussain for six months and Khan 14 months.
Passing sentence at Leeds Crown Court, Judge Christopher Batty said: “The three of you were convicted by the jury of a number of counts relating to your dishonest dealings with public money during the periods when you were setting up the Kings Science Academy and, in your case Sajid Raza and Daud Khan, also in the first 15 months of its operation.”
The money was used by Raza to offset his personal financial difficulties. His rental properties were by August 2013 making a loss of £10,000 a year.
Khan, who was the school’s financial director, did not receive any cash but the court was told the money could not have been diverted without his agreement.
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