Falsifying Cliftonville FC accounts among charges accused faces as he’s sent for trial
A MAN has appeared in court accused of falsifying accounts at a top Irish League football club.
Stephen McKillop (49), of Largy Road near Ahoghill in Co Antrim, was in the dock at Ballymena Magistrates Court yesterday.
He faces a total of 11 charges, including five of false accounting relating to Cliftonville FC and five of fraud by abuse of position at a community project in the Ahoghill area.
The defendant also faces one allegation of transferring criminal property.
The charges relate to 2013 and 2015.
The court appearance comes just days after Cliftonville, who won Irish League titles most reis cently in 2013 and 2014, had a dramatic 2-1 success on Tuesday night in the County Antrim Shield final against Ballymena United.
McKillop is accused of abusing his position as the treasurer of Ahoghill Community Years Project by making an unauthorised transfer from a bank account in the sum of £2,500 to NI Water on March 21, 2013.
He faces two charges of having falsified a document — namely director of Cliftonville Football Club account transactions — on the same date.
Also on the same day, it is alleged that McKillop abused his position as treasurer of Ahoghill Community Years Project by making an unauthorised transfer from a bank account in the sum of £5,000 to Cliftonville Football Club’s bank account. He is further accused of abusing his position as treasurer of the Ahoghill project to transfer £5,000 to Cliftonville on March 28, 2013.
The defendant also allegedly falsified a Cliftonville account record or document on March 28, 2013. The seventh allegation that he abused his position at the community project to transfer £1,850 to a bank account in the name of ‘Stephen Christopher McKillop’ on June 18, 2013.
The defendant is also alleged to have “concealed” a Cliftonville account record on the same date.
Relating to May 21, 2015, he is charged with abusing his position at the Ahoghill project by transferring £1,500 to a Cliftonville account, and the 10th charge is that he falsified a club account record.
The final charge refers to June 11, 2015, when it is alleged the defendant “transferred criminal property”.
During a preliminary enquiry, the legal step to sending a case to the Crown Court, at Ballymena yesterday, a prosecution lawyer submitted that on the basis of the papers before the court there was a case to answer. A defence lawyer had no contrary submissions.
The defendant confirmed he was aware of the charges.
When asked by a court clerk if he wished to say anything in relation to the charges he replied: “No your worship.”
No further details regarding the allegations were given to the court.
The defence lawyer said the defendant is “presently in temporary employment”.
Legal aid was granted and an application for one senior defence counsel in the Crown Court was also approved.
District Judge Nigel Broderick sent the case to Antrim Crown Court for arraignment in February and the defendant was given bail of £500 with the condition he resides at his home address.