Vaughan Cleared

[Chase]

Stephen Vaughan, who has been facing fraud charges involving obtaining high value cars, has walked free from court.

Six charges involving deception and theft were today (Friday) dropped by the prosecution at Liverpool Crown Court.

Vaughan, 46, who had denied all six charges and had been due to stand trial beginning on his birthday, July 14, was discharged from the dock after Judge Adrian Lyon recorded not guilty verdicts.

Simon Christie, prosecuting, said: "This case is part of a wider investigation into high value vehicles."

He said none of the other cases was connected with Vaughan but they had a number of evidential difficulties. Before embarking on Vaughan's trial serious consideration was given to the prospects of success in the light of those earlier problems and it was decided to offer no evidence on the six charges.

Mr Vaughan, of Tower Way, Woolton, Liverpool, had denied obtaining a finance agreement by deception from two different companies, stealing a Mercedes CL500 from one of the companies and an Aston Martin DB9 from the other.

He also denied two offences of obtaining motor insurance from two companies by deception by wrongly saying he had no driving convictions. They all allegedly occurred between March 2005 and March 2006.

Mr Vaughan said after the hearing: "I have always been quite confident that my counsel, Nigel Power and solicitor John Brown, of Hogan Brown, would prove this case to be a false allegation against me.

"I have been totally confident from the word go that I would be totally exonerated."

Mr Vaughan, who stood down as chairman of Chester City FC in December, said: "I am still heavily involved with the club, still fund it and have a non-executive role with it.

"I am happy with today's outcome and will now concentrate on football matters."