West charity falls prey to £130k fraud
That such a crime can be targeted at a charity like Dorothy House is shocking
JOHN DAVIES
APOLICE investigation into a sophisticated fraud which cost a charity £130,000 has been dropped – while its bank has refused to reimburse the lost funds.
Dorothy House Hospice Care was scammed out of the cash through a phone call made to the charity in May last year.
The hospice recovered £42,000 of the stolen money, but the remaining sum of around £87,000 is outstanding, despite requests to its bank NatWest.
The fraud was investigated by the National Fraud Investigation Bureau as well as the Metropolitan Police, which has disclosed the case had been shut.
It can be revealed that the cash went to 17 bank accounts and CCTV was uncovered of a man withdrawing some of the money from a bank in Manchester.
A spokesman for the Met Police said: “Officers made an assessment of the evidence available and a number of lines of enquiry were completed.
“A decision was later taken to close the investigation; this can be re-opened if any further evidence comes to light.”
The £130,000 stolen was enough to pay for three full-time specialist nurses at the hospice, which cares for 2,085 patients a year. It comes at a time expenditure for the charity is rising, with bosses expecting it to reach £21.5 million a year by 2025.
Charity chief executive John Davies said: “We’re delighted that £42,000 has been rightfully returned to the hospice following the fraud in May 2017 and every avenue to recover the outstanding money has now been explored.
“That such a heartless crime can be targeted at a charity like Dorothy House is shocking when the hospice is reliant on fundraising for its income. We are most grateful for the tremendous support and donations we’ve received from the local community since this incident.
“Looking ahead, we’ll continue to deliver high quality care to families affected by a life-limiting illness.”
Mr Davies called on the hospice’s bank NatWest to consider reimbursement of the lost funds on the grounds of duty of care.
But this was refused last month.
He added: “Dorothy House continues to review the situation and I regret the position Nat West has taken, not least given the banking history and the role of the charity across a region of 700 square miles as it continues to deliver invaluable and compassionate care in a challenging economic climate.”
An independent investigation by a team of forensic experts from Bishop Fleming chartered accountants found there was no internal staff collusion in the fraud. The hospice alerted other hospices to help them avoid any similar fraud while also stepping up security measures.
A spokesman for NatWest said: “We very much regret that our customer has been cynically targeted by professional criminals and appreciate the difficulties this has caused.
“In this case, both of the payments were keyed and approved by the authorised user of the hospice’s account.
“The bank is confident that there has been no breakdown in our security procedures in regards to this scam and that no unauthorised persons were able to gain access to any of the hospice’s banking facilities.
“We accordingly have not been able to offer a refund in this case.
“The bank continuously promotes fraud awareness and defensive best practices to all of its customers and is working with our industry peers, regulators and law enforcement to deter criminal activity.”