A Police Federation consultant who lied about payments to members of the House of Lords as he helped himself to part of £250,000 set aside for improving policing is facing jail for fraud.
Christopher McEvoy, 47, claimed to have paid peers including Baroness Ruth Henig and Lord Gordon Wasserman £77,000 for expenses and advice to the Constables Advisory Panel between 2014 and 2015.
But investigations revealed the payments had either been inflated or invented entirely, Southwark crown court heard.
When he was first accused, McEvoy – who was the sole director of lobbying firm Thornhill Public Affairs Limited – accused the Police Federation of “going off half cocked” with the allegations, and denied any wrongdoing.
He faced a criminal trial and was convicted by a jury of fraud by abuse of position and false accounting.
The court heard the advisory panel had been set up to contribute to reforms and improvements in policing, with peers being properly paid for their input.
McEvoy’s company was given £250,000 upfront to support the work of the panel, but later investigations showed he had misused some of the funds as he harboured a gambling habit. He also inflated his own expenses and used the Federation's money to settle his debts.
“Christopher McEvoy was trusted with £250,000 to provide services he had promised to deliver but chose instead to defraud his client”, said Sarah Place, Specialist Prosecutor in the Crown Prosecution Service.
“Although some of the money was legitimately spent, he also inflated his expenditure to pocket the difference, moved money to his personal account to pay off recurring overdrafts, and moved money into betting accounts. Despite being repeatedly asked he has never provided all his invoices or VAT receipts.
“Christopher McEvoy is a dishonest man and the jury saw through his claims and convicted him.”
McEvoy, from Islington in north London, moved money between his personal and business accounts as he sought to disguise the fraud.
When called on by the Police Federation to account for the £250,000, McEvoy produced a spreadsheet in 2016 which contained false information and was not backed by invoices or receipts.
His spreadsheet claimed to show a total spend of £241,047.38 related to the work of the advisory panel for the two years between January 2014 to December 2015.
Lord Wasserman, a Conservative peer, had agreed to carry out advisory work, and said at the time the fraud was first revealed: "I did all this Pro-Bono so I was very surprised to be told someone had allegedly claimed money in my name."
None of the peers were suspected of or accused of any wrongdoing.
McEvoy is due to be sentenced on February 2 next year.
