Jason Zadrozny, the leader of Ashfield District Council in Nottinghamshire, has been found guilty of nine counts of fraud and four counts of evading income tax after a trial at Northampton Crown Court. The jury cleared him of three fraud charges, but 11 jurors voted in favor of four of the remaining counts, while the rest were decided unanimously. Zadrozny, 46, has served on both Ashfield District Council and Nottinghamshire County Council since 2007. He showed no visible reaction as the verdicts were read after three days of deliberation, totaling 10 hours and 47 minutes. According to prosecutors, Zadrozny, who was also a landlord, failed to pay income tax on rental properties he owned. Prosecutor James Varley KC stated that the Ashfield Heritage Society, which Zadrozny created in February 2018, was not a real organization. He appointed himself chairman and was the only person authorized to sign the society’s account, which was provided with a debit card and chequebook, despite being registered with a non-existent address. Zadrozny claimed he did not keep the money from these accounts, but prosecutors argued that the funds were withdrawn in cash by him. A cinema club he founded, the Classic Cinema Club, was likely legitimate at first but was later misused. In total, £9,100 was taken from the Ashfield Heritage Society account and £1,200 from the Classic Cinema Club account. These funds were sourced from Nottinghamshire County Council’s divisional fund for good causes. Three days after establishing the Ashfield Heritage Society, Zadrozny applied for £7,500 in funding, which was approved and entirely withdrawn in cash. In August 2018, he requested an additional £1,600 for "funding towards the cost of commemorative events, badges, poppies and road decorations," which was also taken in cash with no record of its use. The Classic Cinema Club received £1,200 in November 2018, with all of it withdrawn in cash by June 2019. Zadrozny, a former Liberal Democrat, ran for the party in the 2010 general election, finishing second to Labour by less than 200 votes. He later ran as an independent in the 2016, 2019, and 2024 elections. He claimed he gave the cash from the heritage society to Tony Brewer, a former council chairman who died from COVID-19 in 2020, for war memorial repairs. He admitted his paperwork was poor, saying he would not be in court if he had filled it out more clearly. He acknowledged the incorrect address was an error he could not explain. Judge David Herbert KC granted Zadrozny bail until his sentencing on November 27, warning that an immediate prison sentence could be possible.