Surgeries in community centres and tower block foyers were held as another method of getting the green forms signed.
Melbourne Inman QC prosecuting, said residents who wanted help to improve their homes or to move to another area were invited and then asked to sign at least two blank green forms.
They were then allegedly filled in with "fictitious figures" and "made up information" and sent to the Legal Aid board to claim cash.
The forms entitle those on low incomes to free legal advice and assistance. Money can also be claimed for services such as carrying out a survey if it is a housing related matter.
The forms were submitted through Alan Pritchard's Birmingham-based firm, first called Walton and Co, then Alan Pritchard and Co.
Pritchard and consultants Peter Lane and Brian O'Connor all deny one charge of conspiracy to defraud. The alleged deception in which residents in Birmingham, Sheffield, Bradford and Wolverhampton were targeted is said to have occured between April 1993 and April 1994.
One resident of Norfolk Park, Sheffield was allegedly given a pile of forms and asked to get neighbours to sign them as part of a fight for housing improvements. Inman said: "She thought she was getting a petition together and the forms were being signed for legal action."
The court heard the Legal Aid Board became suspicious after the value of work claimed for by the firm rose from £35,000 to £2.25m in just two years.
Pritchard, who denied having clients in Sheffield, said he had not known the amount of legal aid work had risen because he never looked to see what was in his bank account. Any work claimed for had been carried out, he said.
The trial continues.
Source
Housing Today
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