Gran stole £20k from dementia charity she ran
Fraudster used group’s funds for herself and her family
A CHARITY boss stole more than £20,000 from the dementia support group she ran.
Barbara Clarke, 69, used her position in charge of Bolton Dementia Support to repeatedly take unauthorised sums of money out of the charity’s coffers.
She also employed her grandson, Scott Schofield-Clarke, 21, giving him sick pay while he worked at another job.
Clarke pleaded guilty to seven counts of fraud spanning a period between 2013 and 2018.
Philip Hall, prosecuting, told the court Clarke was one of three trustees and was trusted with the day-today running of the organisation, including arranging pay for staff.
But she was suspended in July 2018 after an employee made a complaint about her handling of money and a subsequent investigation revealed a string of fraudulent acts.
Clarke made withdrawals from the charity’s account at ATM machines, made fake invoices marked ‘training’ which went into her own account and even used funds to pay the mobile phone bills of her son, grandson and his girlfriend.
She also paid out fake bills to her son Stephen under the name of a pretend training company because she said he was ‘short of money’. In
August 2017, she paid herself the same month’s wages twice – she claimed she intended to ‘borrow’ the money and forgot about it.
In total, the losses sustained by Bolton Dementia Support amount to £23,744.
In a statement read out in court, Alison Low, an officer from the charity, branded her former colleague’s decisions ‘selfish acts which show her contempt for the charity’.
She added: “The loss of the money almost caused the charity to close and also caused a loss of trust and reputation which may have an impact on how much people choose to donate in the future.”
Nick Ross, defending Clarke, said she had shown ‘impeccable character’
in her life before the fraud and was embarrassed by what she had done, saying she would pay the money back. To date, she has returned £10,000.
Clarke stood in the dock leaning on a stick beside her grandson as they were addressed by Judge Timothy Stead.
He told the pair their actions had been ‘deplorable’, adding: “You abused a position of trust and responsibility.”
Clarke, of Higher Shady Lane, Bromley Cross, Bolton, was handed a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.
Schofield-Clarke, of the same address, was given a curfew for his one count of fraud.