Tesco fraud case collapses after defendant gets heart attack

LONDON – The trial in Britain of three former Tesco supermarket executives accused of accounting fraud has collapsed after one of the defendants was hospitalized.

Judge Deborah Taylor discharged the jury Monday after Carl Rogberg, 50, suffered a heart attack. Reporting restrictions were lifted Tuesday.

Prosecutors accuse Rogberg, Chris Bush, 51, and John Scouler, 49, of failing to correct inaccurately recorded income figures.

They are among eight Tesco executives suspended in 2014 after the company’s half-year profit was overstated by some 250 million pounds ($497 million at the time) due to alleged accounting errors.

Tesco, one of the world’s biggest retailers, has struggled to compete in Britain with low-cost rivals such as Aldi and Lidl.

The trial at Southwark Crown Court began in September. A retrial decision will be made March 2.