Ms Organ told jurors: “There could be no doubt about it, the defendant had applied make-up to his face for this Teams meeting to try and pretend to his line manager that he was unwell.
“This almost laughable incident demonstrates, we say, quite how far the defendant was willing to go in his deceit.”
Mr Chowdhury had also “messed up” by logging on to the meeting with a Defra email address, the court heard.
He allegedly told Ms Adams it could be an old address. The prosecutor said this was a “lie” to conceal the fact he was working elsewhere at the same time.
Jurors heard the alleged frauds came to light after the National Fraud Initiative alerted Defra.
Ms Organ said that between March 2020 and September 2023, Mr Chowdhury had over £300,000 in credits into his three bank accounts and nearly £250,000 in debits.
The trial continues.
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