Former Lawson PAs not guilty of fraud

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 20 Desember 2013 | 22.40

Two former personal assistants to TV cook Nigella Lawson and her ex-husband Charles Saatchi have been cleared of fraud.

The jury at Isleworth Crown Court in London found Italian sisters Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo not guilty of a single count of fraud each.

It was alleged that, between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2012, the women committed fraud by abusing their positions as PAs, using a company credit card for personal gain and were accused of spending more than £685,000 (€820,000) on themselves.

Elisabetta, 41, and 35-year-old Francesca, both of Kensington Gardens Square, Bayswater, west London, had been accused of living the "high life".

The court heard they used credit cards loaned to them by the TV cook and her ex-husband to buy designer goods from Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Vivienne Westwood.

Francesca was accused of spending the largest amount on herself - a sum of £580,000.

But the sisters insisted all of their purchases had been authorised.

In a sensational twist, their defence lawyers introduced allegations of drug-taking by Ms Lawson and marital strife involving the celebrity couple.

It was claimed by the defence that there was a culture of secrecy within the high-profile couple's marriage and that the Grillo sisters were aware of Ms Lawson's alleged drug use, while Mr Saatchi was not.

The defence claimed that Elisabetta's knowledge of Ms Lawson's supposed drug use materially affected the TV cook's attitude towards her spending.

After the three-week trial, the jury of seven men and five women rejected the prosecution's claims that the purchases on the cards had been unauthorised.

Separately, police said Ms Lawson will not face investigation over claims she took cocaine.

Scotland Yard confirmed that officers will not look into the allegations at this stage, but said that the force will review the decision if new evidence comes to light.


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