Ex-treasurer guilty of fraud
Dave King
THE former treasurer of a Leighton charity has been fined £1,000 and ordered to pay nearly £2,000 in compensation and costs after he admitted abusing his position to raid funds.
Dave King, 45, and formerly of Eaton Bray, was treasurer of the town’s Round Table. He pleaded guilty at Bedford Magistrates Court to six offences of fraud and was sentenced to pay back £2,122 to the now defunct group; £650 court costs plus £15 to the Victim Surcharge Scheme.
After the hearing fellow Round Tabler, Mike Ward, told the LBO: “We were very disappointed to discover that the agreed payments to some of the PTA committees had not been made, and when looking into this, some of the awards to charity appeals had also not been honoured although there was no money left in the account.
“The discovery of the misappropriation of funds was always going to be pursued and we are pleased to advise that, with support from NatWest, all of these commitments have now been met.”
Mr Ward added: “The sentence imposed seemed very lenient in relation to other recent fraud convictions and we were appalled that someone could steal from a charity and deprive those who should have benefited from the generosity of the people of Leighton Buzzard.
“Round Table had served in the community for many generations and this was not the way we wanted to be remembered. Fortunately justice has been done and we can reflect positively on all the good work that Round Table should be remembered for rather than the selfish acts of one individual.
“We can now put this debacle behind us.”
Following King’s arrest in 2011, Len Egerton, Leighton Round Table’s last chairman, wrote to the charity’s headquarters explaining that had happened. A copy of the letter was also given to the LBO. In it Mr Egerton said: “Having reluctantly resolved to wind up the Leighton Buzzard Round Table in April 2009 due to low membership, we agreed final distribution of the charity account funds and left this to our treasurer to make the payments and close the accounts.”
The letter went on to say the Round Table members had obtained boxes of the charity’s financial paperwork during a house clearance of the King family home in 2009.
The letter added: “Len Egerton, as the chairman in office at time of closure, reviewed the paperwork with one of the other final Tablers and we were concerned at the apparent disarray and incomplete nature of the documentation.
“This was passed to Mark Ward (another final member) to conduct full investigation on behalf of the group and present the facts at an extraordinary meeting.
“Following investigations, and with co-operation of NatWest Bank to provide missing statements and copies of presented cheques, it became apparent that there were irregularities which were referred to the bank and the police.
“We are pleased to inform that NatWest have recently refunded the funds and these have since been presented to the intended recipients.
“Obviously this is not the way we wish the good work of Leighton Buzzard Round Table to be remembered and would like you to recognise that we have done everything in our ability to ensure the actions of an individual do not overshadow the reputation of the organisation.”
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Weather for Leighton Buzzard
Friday 24 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 4 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 29 mph
Wind direction: North
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