Lorry driver blew £20k he raised for son of Lee Rigby
A LORRY driver who pocketed charity funds raised for the son of murdered Lee Rigby spent the money on recording a music single.
Gary Gardner, 56, conned well- wishers out of thousands of pounds which had been meant for the family of the soldier – who was murdered by jihadists in May 2013.
He transferred the funds into his account before spending the money on recording a ‘ flop’ music single with his band, a court heard.
He raised at least £24,000 from two truck-pull events in Market Harborough, Leicestershire, but only £4,000 went to any charity organisation – and not a single penny was given to Rigby’s eight-year-old Jack.
Gardner instead spent some of the cash recording a single called ‘Miss You Machine’ with his band ‘Together In Harmony’.
He also used the funds to prop up his bank account and clear his overdraft, Leicester Crown Court was told.
Gardner, of Medbourne, Leicestershire, was yesterday convicted of two counts of fraud following an eight-day trial.
He will be sentenced today. Villagers became suspicious of his actions following the truckpull event in 2013, the trial was told. A poster for the event claimed: ‘ Every penny raised goes to both local community and private Lee Rigby’s son trust fund.’ Gardner had vowed to raise enough to set Jack ‘up for life’ with celebrity-led events, including one featuring 1970s band Boney M.
Rigby’s widow Rebecca, 35, was called on as a witness after she was also duped by his lies. Their son Jack was just two when the soldier was murdered by Islamic extremists in Woolwich, South-East London, more than five years ago.
Mrs Rigby told the court she had not received any money from the events.
‘I thought the money was for Jack and a portion was for local charities,’ she said. ‘He never told me how he would get the money to produce the single.
‘I wouldn’t have allowed it if I knew the money was coming from the truck-pull event. I have not received any money from the charity single. I contacted him about the money not long after the single was launched.
‘I contacted him by phone, message and email. I tried a fair few times to contact him.’
Gardner spent more than £3,000 hosting a lavish event in London’s Trafalgar Square to promote the launch of the single.
He even recruited retired Royal Fusiliers, some of them former comrades of Rigby.
Gardner had hoped to break a Guinness World Record for most downloads in an hour – but ended up making just £200 from the single.
He blamed the failure on the British weather as well as the ‘bureaucracy’ of Boris Johnson and then-Prime Minister David Cameron.
Prosecutor Samuel Skinner told the court: ‘In this case the defendant used the names of Private Lee Rigby and his son Jack Rigby to raise thousands of pounds from donations.
‘It appears that the defendant spent all the money he received. He has not given Jack Rigby, or his trust fund, any money.’