A MAN who was head of marketing for a major sports shop chain, has been cleared of helping his chairman father to use a forged bank statement.

A jury at Leeds Crown Court this week found 40-year-old Stuart Jones not guilty of aiding and abetting the use of a false instrument.

The jury accepted Mr Jones’ evidence that he did not know the document was a forgery. He had pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Mr Jones, of Bingley, was due to be tried with his father, Sir David Jones, 72, of Ilkley, who was the executive chairman of the now-defunct JJB Sports chain. But Sir David, who suffers from Parkinson’s Disease, was deemed to be unfit for trial and proceedings against him were discontinued. He had been charged with two offences of making a misleading statement, contrary to the Financial Services and Markets Act, and one offence of using a false instrument, contrary to the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act.

Mr Jones was found not guilty after an eight-day trial. The case was brought by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and was claimed to involve a forged bank statement in October 2009.

It had been alleged that Sir David Jones was heavily in debt and took out two £1.5 million loans from rival owners. He was asked by the JJB board to provide a copy of a bank statement.

Sir David was sent a statement by his son, who was head of marketing at JJB Sports, which the prosecution claimed was a “super quality forgery.”

Yesterday, the SFO confirmed that Mr Jones had been found not guilty of aiding and abetting the use of a false instrument after a trial at Leeds Crown Court before Judge Guy Kearl QC. An SFO spokesman said: “During his trial Mr Jones gave evidence that he did not know the document was a forgery, but suggested that his father, among others, could have been responsible.”

The prosecution had told the jury that Sir David Jones had received loans of £1.5 million each from Mike Ashley, owner of the Sports Direct chain, and Dave Whelan, founder of JJB Sports and owner of DW Sports.

The court heard that Sir David was appointed to the board of JJB when the company was having difficulties in 2007.