A MAN denied running a large-scale football ticket fraud over many years when he made his first appearance before York Crown Court.

Lee David Mattocks is alleged to have made £1 million by selling tickets for Premier League matches that he had obtained by a scam against several top clubs.

He answered “not guilty” each time as each of the 24 charges he faces was read out to him.

He will have to wait 18 months for his trial because of the court backlog.

The 49-year-old from Green Hammerton near York is alleged to have set up multiple fake membership accounts at several football clubs, two of them under female names.

The prosecution claims he used the memberships to get tickets to Premier League matches which he then sold on to others.

Mattocks is also alleged to have faked a top club’s trade marks on documents with a view to misleading the people receiving documents to believe that they were genuine.

The ticket scam is alleged to have been carried out over a nine-year period, starting in 2009.

After hearing that the trial is likely to last three weeks, the Recorder of York, Judge Sean Morris, said it was too long to be heard at York Crown Court.

Leeds Crown Court informed him that the earliest date available at its centre for the trial is June 3, 2024, and the trial date was set for then.

Mattocks was released on bail until his trial.

There will be a case management hearing on April 14 when barristers will discuss matters relating to the case with a judge.

Mattocks is accused of 15 frauds by false representation by applying for and setting up football club membership with information that he knew to be false or misleading by using names other than his own. The offences were allegedly carried out between July 15, 2009, and January 19, 2018.

He also faces two charges of possessing articles for use in fraud, both involving prepaid Mastercards held in names other than Lee Mattocks in 2018.

Mattocks is charged with six charges of applying false trademarks to business cards and compliment slips, all in 2018.

He is also charged with possessing criminal property in the form of monies accrued through the sale of tickets between March 14, 2012, and April 24, 2018.

According to the charges, Mattocks applied three times to Liverpool Football Club and set up football membership in three false names, in 2009, 2012, and 2016.

In 2014, 2015 and 2017, he allegedly got membership of Arsenal Football Club in three more false names.

He is charged with getting membership of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, in a further three false names, once in 2016 and twice in 2017.

In 2014, 2016 and 2018, he allegedly set up three memberships of Chelsea Football Club in false names, two of which were women's names.

In 2017, he allegedly set up three memberships of West Ham Football Club in a further three false names.

According to the charges, he faked Liverpool FC’s club crest on three business information cards and three compliment slips.