A former boss of Dundee restaurant Brassica collapsed in the dock after a jury convicted her of fraud and embezzlement linked to the now-defunct business.
Dea McGill, who was co-director of Brassica on Shore Terrace, swindled £20,000 from a finance lender by pretending the money was for bespoke furniture supply and spent a “sum of money” from the company account while on holidays and shopping.
A trial at Dunfermline Sheriff Court last week heard the “high end” restaurant was only open for a few months before it closed and went into administration in October 2018.
‘Everything was hunky dory’
McGill, 56, had gone into business with local dental practice owner, Dr Rami Sarraf, who told her trial the idea was to establish a quality restaurant in the heart of the city to capitalise on flourishing tourism linked to the opening of the V&A.
He said he invested £50,000 and the rest of the funding was to come from lenders to meet a start-up cost of around £400,000.
McGill was to run the operation and he would be a silent investor.
The 52-year-old, a practising dentist, said a verbal agreement was made that no money could be taken out of the business account until they started making profit, though this was not put in writing.
When the restaurant opened on June 14 2018 he became suspicious when he needed to inject more money into the account.
He said: “Until that day, the way things were presented was everything was hunky dory.
“We had staff, the kitchen is ready, everything is ready to go… and there is a shortage in the account”.
The court heard he paid in a further £76,000 between June 1 and July 2.
Suspicions raised
Dr Sarraf said he and his business partner were later given legal advice that the company, operating under the trading name TayOne Food Ltd, was insolvent and it went into administration.
He said there were “a lot of strange financial agreements” made in the company and debts were much higher than expected.
Dr Sarraf asked his then-dental practice manager, Margaret Tyrrell, to look at company bank statements and she flagged a number of suspicious spends.
Jurors heard about transactions linked to a skiing holiday in France, spending in Croatia and at shops including Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and Hollister.
Dr Sarraf said there were “multiple payments” like this – “using the money I have introduced into the company for private purposes without my knowledge”.
He said when he challenged McGill she told him she would return the money to the company but he said she never did.
Dr Sarraf said he later repurchased the restaurant from administrators for £50,000 and it traded until the Covid pandemic hit in 2020.
In cross examination, defence advocate Sean Templeton suggested Dr Sarraf had indicated to McGill he was prepared to invest £400,000 in the business but did not do so and she had to resort to other ways of raising funds through leasing agreements.
The lawyer said Dr Sarraf had “used” McGill to set up a restaurant and when it was up and ready to go, he cut her out when she was no longer needed.
The dentist denied this and when Mr Templeton suggested he stole the company from McGill, Dr Sarraf said: “I took the company from a person who is running criminal activity who is not helping”.
Guilty
The court heard McGill brought in a carpenter she knew, Danijel Vrbas, to build and varnish tables at the restaurant before its opening and he received payment from a lender, Armada Asset Finance, for a sum of £17,700.
On the same date there was another payment made to him for £20,000 but Mr Vrbas said he did not know about this invoice.
The court heard he was then asked by McGill to transfer this money to her.
McGill was charged by police in July 2019 following investigations and she replied: “Not true, nonsense”.
On the fourth and final day of the trial, evidence was agreed between prosecution and defence that McGill did pay over £10,000 into the company account.
McGill had denied the fraud and embezzlement charges but was found guilty by majority verdicts.
She was found guilty of pretending to employees at Armada Asset Finance that Mr Vrbas was “engaged to supply bespoke furniture” to the business and, knowing this to be false, applied for finance through leasing agreements to pay for it and fraudulently obtained £20,000.
Court papers say the offence took place between February 1 and May 4 2018.
She was also convicted of embezzling a “sum of money” while director of Brassica, between December 4 2017 and October 8 2018.
Dock collapse
Moments later, while being addressed by Sheriff Krista Johnston, McGill collapsed in the dock in the presence of jurors before being helped back to her feet by custody staff.
Afterwards, she was assisted by a friend or relative in the public gallery but appeared to slump over again while seated.
Sheriff Johnston deferred sentencing until December 5 to obtain background reports and McGill’s bail has been continued meantime.
Earlier in the trial, McGill was acquitted of another fraud charge concerning a different lender and an allegation she forged Dr Sarraf’s signature on a personal guarantee in exchange for a leasing agreement.
The court heard McGill, of Fort Street, Broughty Ferry, has no previous convictions.
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