Former football club chairman bailed on £10m stadium loan inquiry fraud charge
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The former chairman of Northampton Town FC and three other men have appeared in court charged with fraud in connection with a £10m stadium redevelopment loan. David Cardoza spoke only to confirm his identity and date of birth and was not asked to enter a plea during a hearing lasting less then five minutes at Northampton Magistrates Court on Thursday.
The 54-year-old, from Eastbourne, and four others also charged with conspiracy to commit fraud had their cases transferred to Northampton Crown Court, where they will appear in February. Northamptonshire Police announced on Wednesday that Cardoza; his father Anthony Cardoza, 80, of Wisbech in Cambridgeshire; Howard Grossman, a 63-year-old property developer from Bushey in Hertfordshire; his son, 37-year-old Marcus Grossman, of Barnet; and 54-year-old Simon Patnick, of Stanmore, north London, are all charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation between September 2013 and April 2015.
Police said the charges relate to allegedly false representations made to Northampton Borough Council that money loaned by the authority to the football club would be used solely for developing Sixfields Stadium and an adjoining hotel. Anthony Cardoza, who is a former director at Northampton Town, was not required to attend Thursday’s hearing and did not appear in court.
David Cardoza, who was a director at the club from 2003 to 2015, left court without making any comment to reporters. The Cardozas are also both charged with fraud by abuse of position, contrary to section 1 of the Fraud Act, which relates to a sum of £8.75 million being paid from the football club to 1st Land Limited, a company owned by Howard Grossman.
