Jury fails to reach verdict in wedding fraud trial

A JURY has failed to reach a verdict in the trial of a man whose wife stole up to £200,000 from her employers to help pay for their wedding.

Graham Lane, 36, claimed he had no idea she had illegally transferred the money into their personal bank accounts and thought it had come from her savings and work bonuses.

He denied laundering more than £70,000 paid by Kirsty Lane, 29, into his account by knowing or suspecting she had committed fraud.

Mrs Lane’s deceit was was uncovered days after she married Mr Lane near Blackpool, Lancashire, last January. When they returned from a three-day honeymoon break in the Lake District, Mrs Lane found a letter from Pure Audio Visual Ltd stating she had been suspended because of suspicions about theft.

She pleaded guilty last October to ten counts of fraud and asked for a further 112 offences to be taken into consideration.

Judge Christopher Cornwall discharged the jury at Preston Crown Court after it deliberated for three and a quarter hours.

The case will be relisted for Friday to allow the Crown Prosecution Service to decide if it wished to pursue a retrial.