A BRADFORD man defrauded his family members out of more than £300,000 in care and welfare payments and pocketed the money for himself, a jury heard.

Shajad Hussain, 38, is standing trial at Bradford Crown Court accused of five charges of fraud by abuse of position relating to payments of almost £370,000.

Prosecutor Alun Jones said the money was paid by Bradford Council to provide care and support to Shajad Hussain’s mother and brother, and also to his father and another brother who have both since died, but only about £56,000 of payments were ever accounted for.

Mr Jones told the jury that Shajad Hussain, of Primary Way, Undercliffe, had acted in a position of trust on behalf of his relatives, and had been expected to safeguard their financial interests when receiving money paid by the Council between May 2007 and December 2013.

With regards to his brother, Talib Hussain, Shajad Hussain allegedly received direct care payments on his behalf totalling more than £114,000, to be used to pay authorised carers to cater for his needs.

The money was paid into an account in Talib Hussain’s name, but Mr Jones said it was subsequently transferred to accounts solely used by Shajad Hussain, with only £14,000 paid to care providers.

The court heard that Shajad Hussain had “deliberately misled” the Council in its auditing process by disguising the payments and making them look genuine.

More than £79,000 was marked on bank statements as being transferred to an alleged care provider called SPC, although a subsequent investigation found no record of such a company existing.

The court heard Shajad Hussain had also controlled direct care payments meant for his father, Gulam Hussain, while acting under the power of attorney.

A total of £74,000 was said to have been paid by the Council but only £42,000 transferred to care providers, with some of the remaining £32,000 again marked against payments to the allegedly fictitious SPC company.

Mr Jones said Shajad Hussain also manipulated £70,000 in welfare benefit payments meant for Talib Hussain, and a further £59,000 entitled to his 82 year-old mother, Fata Begum.

The court heard he had also acted as a court-appointed receiver for his other brother, Nazam Hussain, who died in September 2014, receiving more than £51,000 in benefits on his behalf.

Mr Jones said Shajad Hussain failed to declare the full disclosure of his brother’s finances, selling his sibling’s house to himself and using more than £16,000 to buy a new car and private registration plate.

“Mr Hussain was committing fraud against his family members when he should have been assisting them,” said Mr Jones.

“He acted dishonestly and kept the money for himself when he was not allowed to do so.

“There is no explanation for the missing money except that it was transferred into the defendant’s bank accounts.

“He knew exactly how the system worked.”

The trial continues.