article_snippet.sent: Jonathan Davies, prosecuting, said that as an MEP, Mote could claim expenses, including a Parliamentary Assistance Allowance, or Secretarial Allowance, to help fund Mote work.
article_snippet.sent: Mr Davies said: ‘What the prosecution say happened between 2004 and 2009, when Mote ceased to be an MEP, is that Mote abused that allowance by submitting false claims for payment for work which Mote said to the European Parliament had been done by organisations working on Mote behalf.
article_snippet.sent: Prosecutors claim Mote was 'using the European Parliament money to fund Mote defence and various appeals in connection with being prosecuted for benefit fraud'
article_snippet.sent: Giving details of Mote carrying out fraud to fund his rising legal bills, Mr Davies said: ‘Mr Davies asked for payments to be made to the firm of solicitors on the basis that the firm of solicitors were providing Mr Davies with advice in relation to Mr Davies duties as an MEP.
article_snippet.sent: ‘In fact the money was being used to fund a number of criminal and civil proceedings related to Mote prosecution for benefit fraud offences, and indeed some unrelated civil proceedings.
article_snippet.sent: Basically we say Mote was using the European Parliament money to fund Mote defence and various appeals in connection with being prosecuted for benefit fraud.
article_snippet.sent: This was a sophisticated fraud committed over several years during which Mote made a number of false representations and produced a number of false documents in order to deceive the European Parliament into believing that significant amounts of work were being done on his behalf, relating to his work as an MEP.
article_snippet.sent: Between 2004, when Mote was elected MEP and 2009, Mote claimed a total of £750,000 in Parliamentary Assistance Allowance, taking into account Mote legitimate claims and any alleged fraudulent activity.
article_snippet.sent: Mote was elected a Ukip MEP for South East England in 2004, but shortly before Mote actually took up Mote seat was thrown out of Nigel Farage's party because Mote was being prosecuted by the Department for Work and Pensions for benefit fraud.
article_snippet.sent: However, Mote sat as an independent MEP until 2009, when Mote decided not to stand for election.
article_snippet.sent: The court heard that in April 2004 Mote's case for alleged income support, council tax and housing benefit fraud was sent to crown court to be dealt with, and Mote was elected as an MEP two months later.
article_snippet.sent: Elected as MEP: Mote (pictured in 2006) was thrown out of Ukip because he was being prosecuted by the Department for Work and Pensions for benefit fraud the Department for Work and Pensions Work and Pensions .
article_snippet.sent: Jurors heard that in light of this, Mote wrote to the manager of European Parliament allowances asking for expenses to allow Mote to fight this.
article_snippet.sent: Mote wrote: ‘I have to fund Mote in the legal affairs committee against an attempt by the British government to unseat me as an MEP.