Man took £73,000 to pay for deposit on house
A FRAUDSTER who swindled more than £73,000 from a charity he worked for has been jailed.
Darren Pickering, 37, used the money he had fraudulently gained to pay a deposit on a house he was buying.
The Long Eaton man was employed by community-based charity The Renewal Trust and Hungerhill Trading Limited as a full-time property manager between August 18, 2015 and December 21, 2018.
The charity works with children, young people, adults and communities in Nottingham. It supports people by offering a number of young people’s programmes, community initiatives, sports programmes and employability assistance.
Pickering, of Bonsall Street, transferred money from the trust to pay fraudulent invoices, with the funds going into his own bank account to pay for the deposit on a Derbyshire home.
On Friday he was jailed for two years at Nottingham Crown Court after pleading guilty to a charge of fraud by abuse of position.
Detective Sergeant Anna Haynes, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was a significant amount of money for the charity which Pickering stole for his own selfish gain. He was a trusted member of staff but he abused and exploited his position.
“This was a complex investigation and I’m glad Pickering pleaded guilty. The evidence against him was overwhelming.”
A spokesperson for The Renewal Trust said: “This was a shocking matter for us and we are glad to see justice has been served.
“While we believe this was an isolated incident, we have worked closely with our auditors and undertaken a review of internal financial processing to help safeguard the charity for the future and are working towards recuperating the funds taken. We look forward to moving ahead and continuing to provide services and support people in our community.”