Charity couple speak out over Reilly fears

Stewarts concerned court case could affect veterans project work

A Dundee couple taken in by veterans charity fraudster James Reilly say they were conned right up until the pensioner’s shock guilty plea.

Charlie and Jill Stewart counted Reilly, 66, as a friend and helped raise funds for his charity, Tayforth Veterans Project.

Reilly, who claims to have served as a Royal Navy diver, admitted fraudulently obtaining £60,000 from the Tayforth Veterans Project in City Quay.

The 66-year-old helped set up the charity in 2011.

On Thursday, at Dundee Sheriff Court, Reilly was jailed for 13 months as former friends and comrades looked on.

Several uniformed ex-marines had travelled to Dundee Sheriff Court in June to witness Reilly plead guilty.

Mr Stewart, who suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder after serving with the RAF, says he was stunned to learn Reilly had admitted the fraud.

Charlie, who attended Tayforth Veterans Project for support, and wife Jill had worked tirelessly to raise funds for Reilly’s charity. Both only learned of Reilly’s guilty plea after seeing it in the paper.

Charlie and Jill are now concerned Veterans First Point ( a group formerly associated with Tayforth Veterans Project), which is run by NHS Tayside, will be tarnished by Reilly’s crimes.

Charlie revealed: “It’s not enough (Reilly’s sentence). He conned us right up until the very end.

“We both did a lot of charity work for him. We saw him a couple of months ago and had a cup of tea and some cake.

“The next thing I saw was he was pleading guilty. I was like: ‘You’re kidding?’.

“Veterans First Point do a lot of good work, but it’s hard for them. I would hate for anyone to think they are involved in this. I’ve been getting intensive treatment and therapy and I wouldn’t have got that if it weren’t for Veterans First Point.

“I don’t want people saying ‘let’s not go there’. It’s nothing to do with them. They do a great job, that has to be publicised.”

Charlie’s wife Jill helped organise fundraising nights and awareness events for Reilly’s charity and says she feels “guilty” by her association with him.

Jill said: “I wasn’t able to sleep the other night. I feel partly guilty.

Charlie added: “£60,000 will be just the tip of the iceberg, I would imagine. It just makes you feel that everything was a lie. Mainly, you feel horrible.”

Reilly was employed as a peer support worker for Veterans First Point, who are part run by NHS Tayside

After Reilly was jailed, an NHS Tayside spokesman said: “NHS Tayside is currently following due management process with regard to this individual.”

James Reilly has been jailed for stealing £60,000 from the charity.