‘Serial fraudster’ stole £62k from fund for Grenfell
A ‘SERIAL fraudster’ in charge of a public fund for Grenfell Tower survivors stole £62,000 (€69,000) and spent it on foreign breaks and fine dining.
In the aftermath of the blaze which claimed 72 lives, Jenny McDonagh, 39, was recruited by Kensington and Chelsea Council to help victims rebuild their lives.
But just days after starting the finance manager job, she began stealing from credit cards which had been loaded with money to help displaced residents.
McDonagh, who boasted on her CV that she set up the payment system, used the cash to pay for five-star holidays to Dubai, Los Angeles, New York and Iceland.
She also treated herself to expensive haircuts, meals in fancy restaurants – and lost £16,000 by gambling on the internet.
In the latest insult to Grenfell survivors, it emerged that despite being arrested and released earlier this month, she continued to steal from the fund.
The accountant pleaded guilty to two offences of fraud, one of theft and another of money laundering at Westminster Magistrates’ Court yesterday.
During the hearing it emerged that she was also being investigated for pocketing £35,000 from the NHS when she worked in the accounts department at the Medway Foundation Trust in Kent.
She is also under suspicion over an attempted fraud at the time she was the finance operations manager of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
A spokesman for the campaign group Justice4Grenfell said: ‘Some people don’t have any scruples. It is appalling that people take advantage of a situation in which vulnerable people were waiting to be housed. This money could have been used for that purpose.’
Prosecutor Robert Simpson said: ‘She’s someone who seems unable to stop herself. She is a serial fraudster who lives beyond her means and gambles.’
McDonagh, of Abbey Wood in South London, was granted bail after her husband said she could continue living at home. She must wear an electronic tag and will be sentenced at a later date.