By Staff Reporter

Published at 11:30, Thursday, 09 August 2012

Three businessmen accused of helping the owner of Barnsley FC make millions of pounds by concocting a ‘fairytale’ to deceive the stock market are facing a retrial.

Related: Jury considering verdict in Carlisle man's fraud trial

Former iSoft Group directors Carlisle-born Stephen Graham, 48, Timothy Whiston, 44, and John Whelan, 45, allegedly plotted with Tykes boss Patrick Cryne, 62, to create ‘huge discrepancies’ in the firm’s publicly published accounts to mislead investors.

They are accused of using a forged contract to claim cash projected revenues from a £44.3 million contract were recognised in the IT company’s accounts from as early as October 2003, despite the deal not being signed until April 2005.

The trio allegedly lied about winning the contract to bag lucrative personal bonuses and misled the markets by transforming an £11m loss into an apparent £9.4m profit in the company books.

But yesterday after a trial lasting nearly four months and costing the taxpayer millions, the jury at Southwark Crown Court failed to reach verdicts.

Graham, Whiston and Whelan deny conspiring with Cryne to make misleading statements, promises, or forecasts.

Cryne is not before the court after becoming ‘unwell’ since criminal proceedings began.

Graham, is a former school trustee at Austin Friars St Monica’s. None of the four men have any connection with iSoft today.

The company, based in Banbury, Oxfordshire, was sold to Australian software firm IBA Health after a takeover in October 2007.

It has since been sold to US company CSC and is now part of CSC’s healthcare group.

A date for the retrial will now be fixed on September 7.

Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk