US fraud case couple Paul and Sandra Dunham 'pose flight risk'

Paul Dunham arrived at Westminster Magistrates' Court last Friday after being discharged from Northampton General Hospital

A couple extradited to the United States on fraud charges have been declined bail on the basis they pose a "flight risk".

Paul and Sandra Dunham, both 58 and from Northampton, are accused of expenses fraud, which they deny, at a US company they once worked for.

The US District Court in Greenbelt, Maryland, heard the Dunhams would be remanded for up to 10 months.

The couple are expected to appeal against the ruling.

They flew to Maryland on 22 May, accompanied by US marshals, and the following day were remanded in custody by the same court.

'Bitterly disappointed'

The allegations the couple face centre on Mr Dunham's time as chief executive and president of Pace, a US company manufacturing soldering irons for the electronics industry. Mrs Dunham was director of sales.

The indictment against them says that between 2002 and 2009 the couple fraudulently charged personal expenses to their corporate credit cards and submitted vouchers to Pace for reimbursement that falsely described them as business expenses.

The couple went to hospital on 15 May - the day their extradition was due - after saying they had tried to take their own lives to avoid being sent to the US.

They were extradited a week later.

Gary Proctor, Paul Dunham's lawyer, said: "Mr Dunham and I are bitterly disappointed in this ruling. We plan to promptly file an appeal.

"Until then they will continue to remain incarcerated at the Chesapeake Detention Facility."