FORMER Labour MP Jared O’Mara appeared in court to answer for fraudulent claims during his tenure.
Appearing for sentencing, the ex-Sheffield Hallam MP was found guilty and given four years in prison.
O’Mara appeared at Leeds Crown Court to learn his fate
Who is Jared O’Mara?
Jared O’Mara was born in Sheffield on November 15, 1981.
Prior to becoming an MP, he had held a position as a school governor.
He had also volunteered for some local charities during this time.
This was before he then decided to pursue a career in politics.
Why has Jared O’Mara been sent to prison?
O’Mara was found guilty of six counts of fraud totalling £52,000 of the taxpayer’s money as a result of bogus claims.
These all stemmed from a fictitious charity called Confident About Autism South Yorkshire.
Due to the position he held at the time, it was deemed that he had undermined public trust and the image held of MPs by the general public.
In his court case, it was documented that O’Mara had made the claims to fund a heavy cocaine habit and had got himself into debt with drug dealers.
He was found guilty of fraud by false representation.
When was Jared O’Mara an MP?
Having stood as a Labour candidate in various Sheffield council elections, it came as a surprise to many when he was to dislodge Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats in a shock result on June 8, 2017.
However, a number of comments made by O’Mara prior to his election win came to light which led the Labour party to investigate these allegations although they decided not to suspend him at this point.
O’Mara was later to be suspended from the party and did not speak publicly for a number of months following this.
When he finally did, he announced he would be taking a leave of absence on the advice of his GP.
He was readmitted to the Labour party in 2018, when as a result of their investigations they decided to issue him a formal warning along with a mandatory requirement to attend training programmes.
Later that year he was to announce that he was quitting the party to become an independent, claiming the party did not share his commitment to “the true definition of equality and compassion.”
He stood down as an MP in December 2019 following his arrest by police.
While he was found guilty of six of the charges made against him, he was cleared of another two.
After the case, CPS boss Nick Price said: “O’Mara viewed taxpayers’ money as a source of income that was his to claim and use as he wished.”
