Football '˜ticket fraud' missing evidence claim

Fleetwood Town FC’s former operations manager, David Holloway, 31, of Rossall Grange Lane, Fleetwood, is on trial at Preston Crown Court accused of involvement in a £7,000 ticket refund scam.

He denies abusing his position at the League One football club by fraudulently making false ticket refunds between July 2014 and June 2015, when it is alleged he gave excessive refunds totalling £4,696 for the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons.

Refunds were allegedly given on match tickets for cash, once katches had started, and the cash was going into the pockets of this defendant and indeed another man who was running the same scam at the same time.

Records showed the transactions were made from ticket terminals while he was on duty, and late at night.

Summing up the defence case, Daniel Prowse said: “It’s abundantly clear the ticket officers have made their minds up. It’s for the prosecution to make you sure the defendant is guilty. They carry that burden.

“You are deciding if a young man, husband and father whose never been in trouble before, is guilty.

“The fact he was on site doesn’t mean it was him at the terminal. The fact his account was being used doesn’t prove he was at the terminal.

“The only way to prove that would be CCTV or to call a witness who was there at the time and could place him there. And of course neither of those two pieces of evidence are present.”

(Proceeding)