THE former partner of a convicted fraudster has told a jury that he stole her identity to take out loans to fund his crippling gambling habit.

Shamed businessman Michael Smallman's ex-girlfriend Iulia Dow yesterday (Tuesday, May 24) said she was aware of his criminal past but "trusted him and honestly loved him".

Miss Dow was giving evidence on the 12th day of Smallman's trial at Teesside Crown Court where he is accused of 11 fraud and theft offences.

The 52-year-old is alleged to have ripped off dozens of customers of his County Durham clothing business and stole from Ukraine-born Miss Dow.

Smallman is said to have pawned an engagement ring and wedding ring from her previous marriage, and taken $1,500 "emergency money" hidden in a sock.

He is also accused of taking out six pay-day loans and a log-book loan against Miss Dow's BMW using her personal details and without her knowledge.

The mother-of-one told the jury: "I just could not believe it was possible, that a person could do that to you. A person you are sharing a bed, a roof, a family and a family could do that to you."

Asked by prosecutor Liam O'Brien how she felt when she learned from the police that he had pawned her jewellery at a shop in Darlington, she replied: "I was absolutely distraught."

She added: "I still could not believe until then the person who I loved, honestly loved, could do that to me."

The court heard how the couple met in late 2102 on a dating site, and. Miss Dow described him as "very charming, very confident" and said: "He seemed loyal."

Under cross-examination from Smallman's barrister William Byrne, Miss Dow denied that she had given him permission to pawn the jewellery or take out the loans.

Earlier, she said on her visits to Smallman's office in Newton Aycliffe, she got the impression his company - APM Clothing Development - was in trouble.

She said customers were often ringing up to complain, but she felt assured when her partner told staff it would all be sorted out.

Smallman, of Castle Hill, Richmond, North Yorkshire, denies nine charges of fraud and two of theft.

Mr Byrne put to trained accountant Miss Dow: "You were well aware the loans had been taken. They were for you." She replied "no" to both suggestions.

She also denied the car was Smallman's and denied the proposition that she had given him permission to pawn the rings "because they didn't mean that much".

The trial continues.