A builder in a £2 million fraud trial has pleaded not guilty to 46 charges of fraud alleged to have taken place across the West Country between December 2019 and November 2021.

Mark Killick, who has also gone by the aliases Marc Cole and Mark Jenkins, has denied that his business operated as a Ponzi scheme.

He is accused of recruiting customers into his business and using their deposits to fund earlier projects, while spending profits on personal luxuries, including high-end watches and multiple stays at the Celtic Manor resort in Newport, Wales.

At Bristol Crown Court in August, the prosecution said Mr Killick had previous fraud convictions dating back to 2008, when he took money for kitchens that were never completed. They added that by using aliases, he made it harder for customers to uncover his history of fraud.

The defence argued that the 46 charges account for only a quarter of the company’s income, and that almost 90 per cent of turnover was spent on legitimate business expenses. They also claimed there was “no evidence” Mr Killick was living “a Champagne lifestyle.”

So far, the prosecution has called more than 50 witnesses in an effort to show that Mr Killick knowingly took money from customers without any realistic means or intention of completing the work. If the jury accepts this evidence, he could be found guilty.

However, the defence maintains that the alleged fraudulent activity represents only a fraction of the company’s overall work, and that the unfinished projects resulted from liquidation and wider business pressures outside Mr Killick’s control.

Roger Isaacs, Forensic Partner at Milsted Langdon, said: “It is sometimes argued that fraud cases are too complex for the average jury and that it would be better for them to be heard by a judge.

“This case may be a good example of a prosecution in which the circumstances surrounding the fraud would be best explained to the jury by forensic accountants who specialise in illustrating complex financial schemes in simple terms.”

Sources: BBC News