Former UK lawmaker O'Mara convicted of fraud - BBC
LONDON (Reuters) - Former British lawmaker Jared O'Mara was found guilty of fraud for submitting fake expenses of nearly 20,000 pounds ($24,128) to fund his cocaine habit when he was a member of parliament, local media reports said on Wednesday.
O'Mara, a former lawmaker from Britain's opposition Labour Party, was was thousands of pounds in debt to a drug dealer, the trial at Leeds Crown Court was told, the BBC and other media reported. He was found guilty of six counts of fraud.
O'Mara, 41, who was a member of parliament from 2017 to 2019, submitted fraudulent invoices to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, which regulates lawmakers' business costs and pay, the BBC said.
As a lawmaker, O'Mara was also suspended from the Labour Party in 2017 for reportedly making slurs against a woman he dated and other comments.
He is due to be sentenced on Thursday.
($1 = 0.8289 pounds)
(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; editing by William James)
