A judge re-fixed the plea hearing of a bankrupt letting agent accused of accepting £25,000 in rent payments while she owed the taxman more than quarter of a million pounds. 

Madelaina Eftekhari’s case was before Oxford Crown Court on Wednesday, when Judge Ian Pringle QC adjourned the matter for reports and adjourned the plea and trial preparation hearing until September 13.

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No trial date was fixed, although the judge was told that the matter was expected to last at least four to five weeks.

The 56-year-old defendant was not present for the hearing. She was represented by Esther Schutzer-Weissmann, who appeared in court over the video link.

Prosecutors claim Eftekhari, of Hobson Road, Oxford, was running a residential property lettings business from 2012 to 2018 ‘with intent to defraud her creditors’. 

She is accused of obtaining almost £25,000 in rent payments and acted as a director of Hernes Close Residents’ Association between April 2014 and March 2016 while an undischarged bankrupt. 

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The Insolvency Service, which has brought 11 charges against her, say she failed to disclose that she owed £270,000 in tax or that she was able to use another’s HSBC bank account.

The prosecution was represented on Wednesday by barrister Rufus D'Cruz, who also appeared over the video link.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @t_seaward