A RECENTLY jailed businessman has failed in a fresh effort to have appeal court judges look again at his conviction for fraud.

Michael Smallman had hoped to persuade the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) to refer his case to the Court of Appeal.

But it decided there was no realistic chance of the 51-year-old’s conviction for a £16.5m education fraud being quashed.

The CCRC is an independent public body that reviews possible miscarriages of justice and refers appropriate cases to the appeal courts.

Mr Smallman, from Richmond, North Yorkshire, claimed to have new evidence contradicting the testimony of a key prosecution witness who gave evidence in his trial at Teesside Crown Court in 2008.

He also alleged the summing up of the case to the jury was flawed and the judge regularly fell asleep during the three month-long trial.

Mr Smallman was convicted of three offences of fraudulent trading and one of transferring criminal property as a result of his involvement with the National Distance Learning College of which he was chairman. He was given a seven year jail sentence and released from prison in 2012.

Last week it emerged Mr Smallman, who describes himself as a ‘serial entrepreneur’, had been sent back to jail for two years by magistrates for non payment of a confiscation order in the sum of £228,773. To date he had only paid £14,500 from the order which he was found to have defaulted on.

Justin Hawkins, a spokesman for the CCRC, said: “I can confirm we sent him [Mr Smallman] a document explaining our final decision.

“We reviewed it and decided we could not refer it to the Court of Appeal and therefore the case has been closed.”