Two women have appeared in court facing a charge of fraudulently obtaining more than £36,000 by falsifying timesheets in Stevenston. 

Jan Upex, 55, of Links Road in Saltcoats, and Dawn Upex, 31, of Millglen Road, Saltcoats, are accused of operating a fraudulent scheme between March 29, 2014 and March 25, 2016.

The pair deny the charges, and their solicitor entered a 'plea of oppression', on grounds of a delay in proceedings, during a hearing at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court.

The two women are accused of operating a fraudulent scheme to obtain payment for unworked hours amounting to £36,267 at Warner Street in Stevenston.

The Crown alleges that Jan Upex allegedly completed and submitted personal assistant timesheets for care for a now deceased woman, claiming time had been worked when it had not by Dawn Upex and four others.

Jan Upex is said to have applied false signatures purporting to be signed by the deceased as a recipient of personal care, and submitting these to the Ayrshire Independent Living Network, which is based in Princes Street in Ardrossan. 

Jan Upex was said to have gathered money based on these false hours claimed, to have paid wages to four others for hours that had genuinely been worked, and to have kept the difference, and paid a salary to Dawn Upex based on hours falsely claimed that she had worked.

These payments were funded by North Ayrshire Council, ILF Scotland and personal contributions from the deceased.

The pair were said to have claimed payments for 2,745 hours of work which had not been completed, amounting to £36,267.

The court was told that the matter was reported to police on December 12, 2017.

The concept of oppression, in Scots law, deals with a variety of situations in which the prosecution, or continued prosecution, of an accused may give rise to unfairness.

The pair will return to court this week, where the issue will be debated further. Bail for both accused was continued.