Dr Tina Beloveth Powerful in Milton Keynes guilty of 'dishonesty'

Head of the business school Dr Tina Beloveth Powerful denied any wrongdoing

The head of a bogus business school in Milton Keynes has been found guilty of fraud and false advertising.

Dr Tina Beloveth Powerful, 47, was described as "dishonest" at Milton Keynes Magistrates' Court.

Trading Standards officers brought the case against Dr Powerful and Everest School of Transformational Leadership.

There was "no evidence [that] any of the facilities, including a library and computers referred to on the Everest website, existed", magistrates said.

Dr Powerful will be sentenced at Milton Keynes Magistrates' Court on 10 July after probation reports have been compiled and considered.

Dr Powerful, from Milton Keynes, is alleged to have offered courses and degrees her college did not have the power to give.

She was also accused of posting untrue statements on her website, although she denied any intention to mislead anyone.

No-one charged

It was the eighth time that the case had been heard due to numerous adjournments.

Milton Keynes Trading Standards used evidence from a BBC investigation to bring the prosecution.

Harvard University (left) sued Havard College over trademark infringement

In February 2014, a BBC investigation found that the business school was offering degrees it did not have the power to offer.

Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, had sought damages over alleged trademark infringement, claiming there was "evidence of confusion" between the two establishments. Dr Powerful sought £2m in a counter-claim.

The university confirmed it had paid a "nominal amount" to the college, founded in 2010, to change its name.

She had earlier told the court: "I had no intention to mislead anybody as the school was still in the planning stage and hasn't offered any degrees to anybody."

She blamed a website developer for including details of how to pay but said "no-one had been charged for the bible studies course".

She had held a graduation ceremony, and a company that provided services used by Oxford University to supply gowns, to give the impression that students could obtain degrees.

The Everest School of Transformational Leadership is based in Ascot House