Prosecutor claims project manager was ‘living on the hog’ buying holidays and cars

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Three NHS managers cost a health board £1.4m by using the names of U2 members to award contracts to a bogus construction firm, a court has heard.

Mark Evill, 42, Robert Howells, 65, and Michael Cope, 44, allegedly helped secure payments to a company set up by Evill, who then used the cash to buy properties, jewellery, cars and luxury holidays to Dubai.

A court was told Evill, the project manager, set up the construction company George Morgan to secretly award contracts to himself from Powys teaching health board. He also created fictional employees using the real names of U2 band members Bono and The Edge to correspond with health board colleagues and wrote fake invoices from legitimate firms to make sure his alleged crimes were not uncovered by auditors.

Merthyr Tydfil crown court heard on Tuesday that the construction work carried out was later considered to have “major deficiencies”, with remedial works bringing the total cost of the fraud to £1,420,604.66.

Work was carried out at Brecon war memorial hospital, Welshpool hospital and the health board’s headquarters at Bronllys Mansion House during 2014 and 2015.

Howells, a fellow project manager, and Cope, the estate manager, were allegedly bribed with cash to endorse bids by George Morgan, knowing the firm was in fact owned by Evill.

Christopher Rees, prosecuting, said: “Expenditure from the George Morgan bank account showed Mark Evill was living high on the hog at the expense of the National Health Service.”

Rees said a total of £707,946.24 was paid by Powys local health board to the George Morgan account. Cash withdrawn from the account was allegedly used to buy a Land Rover Defender, an Audi A4, a Husqvarna motorcycle, holidays to Dubai, a Chanel women’s watch, and properties in south Wales.

Evill was interviewed by police in 2016, when he admitted creating two fictional employees, Paul Hewson and David Evans, who signed off on quotes and corresponded with the health board by email and phone.

Rees told the court Paul Hewson was the real name of the U2 singer Bono and David Evans the name of its lead guitarist, The Edge.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Edge and Bono from U2, whose real names, David Evans and Paul Hewson, were allegedly used for fake employees. Photograph: Paul Bergen/EPA

Rees said: “It is a mark of the blatant, brazen and provocative dishonesty of Mark Evill that he chose to use the names of members of U2 to further this fraud.”

Howells was allegedly given a £10,000 Ford Focus and £1,000 by Evill as an award to enable the award of contracts and payments to George Morgan, despite knowing his fellow project manager was its sole director.

Cope was also allegedly given a £500 cheque to “endorse” the use of Evill’s firm to the health board.

Evill, from Shire Newton, denies three counts of transferring criminal property, fraud and perverting the course of justice.

Howells, from Sedbury in Chepstow, and Cope, from Garden City in Merthyr Tydfil, deny one count of fraud.

The trial continues.