Nottinghamshire council leader convicted of fraud branded a ‘sinister stain’ on local politics
Jason Zadrozny, leader of the Ashfield Independents group, had denied inventing a fake heritage society to scam Nottinghamshire County Council out of more than £9,000.
A council leader facing jail after being convicted of fraud has been described as a “sinister and manipulative con artist” by Reform UK MP Lee Anderson.
Ashfield District Council in Nottinghamshire said it would follow appropriate legal processes after jurors at Northampton Crown Court found its leader, Jason Zadrozny, guilty of nine counts of fraud and four counts of fraudulent evasion of income tax.
Zadrozny, leader of the Ashfield Independents group, had denied inventing a fake heritage society to scam Nottinghamshire County Council out of more than £9,000.
Jurors cleared the 46-year-old, of Sutton Road, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, of three counts of fraud.
The former Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate, who also stood in the 2016 Nottinghamshire police and crime commissioner poll, was granted bail and told that a jail sentence is a possible outcome when he is sentenced in November.
Ashfield MP Mr Anderson and fellow Reform UK MP Robert Jenrick, who represents Newark, issued statements after Zadrozny’s conviction, with Mr Jenrick describing the councillor as “the biggest stain on Nottinghamshire politics for a decade”.
In a statement calling for Zadrozny to step down immediately, Mr Anderson said: “Councillor Jason Zadrozny has brought shame upon our area and local politics.
“This guilty verdict has proved once and for all that he has only ever been involved in politics for personal gain.
“What I find truly shocking is that the well respected Cllr (Tony) Brewer was accused by Zadrozny of taking council funds after his death as part of Zadrozny’s defence.
“I’ve had to bite my tongue over the past few years when asked about Zadrozny.
“I tried to work with him to better our area but he was only ever in the job for himself in my opinion.
“He is a disgrace to our area and I feel for the thousands of people who put their trust in him at the ballot box – they were quite clearly duped by a sinister and manipulative con artist.”
In a post on Facebook, Mr Jenrick said: “Zadrozny stole thousands of pounds of public money and avoided tax on many of his rental properties.
“His party continues to run Ashfield District Council into the ground.
“He has been the biggest stain on Nottinghamshire politics for a decade.
“This conviction proves what many of us have suspected for many years.”
Mr Jenrick continued: “Last year Lee Anderson and Reform wiped out the Ashfield Independents on the county council. We will be working our hardest to remove them from the district council too.”
Zadrozny, who was first elected to Ashfield District Council and Nottinghamshire County Council in 2007, did not react in the dock on Monday as jurors returned their verdicts after deliberating for 10 hours and 47 minutes over three days.
Prosecutors told a four-week trial that the Ashfield Independents group leader was “short of money” and helped himself to cash from Ashfield Heritage Society, which he set up in February 2018.
Jurors were also told Zadrozny was a landlord who did not pay tax on income from four of his properties.
Opening the Crown’s case at the beginning of the trial, prosecutor James Varley KC said Ashfield Heritage Society did not exist.
Mr Varley told the court: “He told the council ‘this is a genuine organisation, they need some funds’ and they gave him some funds but it was a scam.”
The councillor told the jury he did not keep the money for himself and gave cash from Ashfield Heritage Society to Mr Brewer, a former Ashfield District Council chairman who died from Covid in 2020, to repair war memorials.
But the Crown said funding allocated to the society was withdrawn in cash by the defendant, while a cinema club created by Zadrozny “was probably legitimate when he set it up” although he later helped himself to its funds.
The court heard that £9,100 was withdrawn in cash from the Ashfield Heritage Society account, while £1,200 was withdrawn from the Classic Cinema Club account.
Both organisations were funded by the councillors’ divisional fund of Nottinghamshire County Council, which is meant to be used for good causes.
A spokesperson for Ashfield District Council said: “The council is aware that the court proceedings involving Councillor Zadrozny have now delivered a verdict.
“The council will now follow the appropriate legal and democratic processes.
“We will continue to deliver our services and undertake our responsibilities for residents, businesses and communities.”
Zadrozny refused to comment as he left court.