Police in Dundee are trying to arrest a wanted man in the city despite being told he is dead.
The Courier can reveal that prosecutors are pressing on with attempts to bring the man to trial as they believe he is still alive and has previously faked his own death.
A court was told police officers from Tayside Division have tried repeatedly to serve John McGrath, 39, of Gourlay Yard in City Quay, with his citation in order to bring him to court on embezzlement charges.
However, they failed to trace him. A warrant was issued at Dundee Sheriff Court last month after McGrath failed to appear at the first calling of the case.
A source said police had been told that McGrath had died but the Crown does not believe that as he had previously faked a terminal illness and then his own death.
A search through registration records by The Courier has shown there is no death notice in existence for a John McGrath with that date of birth in Scotland.
The records also show there was no John McGrath born in Scotland on his date of birth and there is also no marriage certificate existing for someone with those details in Scotland.
McGrath had been accused of fraudulently obtaining cars from a vehicle hire services firm by pretending to be an employee of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and therefore entitled to use its company agreement with the car hire firm.
It is understood the case involved a top-of-the-range Mercedes and he is accused of defrauding the firm out of nearly £12,000.
No defence solicitor was present to represent McGrath when the case was called before Sheriff Derek O’Carroll.
He was told by depute fiscal Eilidh Robertson that McGrath had not yet been served with his citation as officers had repeatedly failed to contact him at his address.
She said the Crown was asking for a warrant for his arrest and Sheriff O’Carroll granted it.
McGrath has been accused of, between September 1 2011 and September 30 2012, at Gourlay Yard, pretending he was an RBS employee and was entitled to use a car hire scheme for RBS employees, providing fraudulent details to a vehicle leasing services company, repeatedly inducing them to provide him with access to cars and obtaining services to the value of £11,719.
A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “We can confirm that there is a warrant with the police and we are aware of the surrounding circumstances and have taken all appropriate steps.”
The Courier has made several unsuccessful attempts to trace McGrath’s partner.