Former Shropshire charity boss facing jail over fraud

A 40-year-old Whitchurch woman has been warned she faces jail after she admitted stealing more than £19,000 from a county charity.

Louise Charlotte Stokes, of Park Road, transferred the cash from the bank account of North Shropshire Voluntary Action (NSVA) to her own account, while she was the chief officer of the charity.

Shrewsbury Crown Court heard yesterday her actions had led to the collapse of the charity.

Stokes admitted two charges of fraud by dishonestly abusing her position by electronically transferring money.

The court heard she had switched money from the bank account of NSVA to her own bank account between April 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008, and April 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009.

Judge Robin Onions told the Crown Prosecution Service he wanted more information about the impact of her actions, which he understood had led to the charity ceasing to exist.

He told Stokes to prepare herself for a prison sentence.

He said: "This is extremely serious, if I were you I would prepare yourself for custody. This is a serious abuse of trust."

The case was adjourned for reports and Stokes was released on conditional bail.

Bosses at the Community Council of Shropshire, which helped set up NSVA before it became an independent body to support the voluntary and charity sector in north Shropshire, today insisted such cases were rare in the county.

Julia Baron, chief executive officer of the Community Council for Shropshire, called on people to continue supporting charities and voluntary sector bodies in the wake of the case.

She said: "It's a very tragic case.

"It is very unusual for this type of thing to happen in the voluntary sector and we don't want people to think this sort of thing is commonplace.

"We need people to be confident that the charities they support can be relied upon."

She added that since NSVA had ceased to exist, many of the services and training courses it had offered voluntary groups in north Shropshire were still being provided.

While the NSVA premises are no longer available, many of the former charity's supporters still offer training, networking opportunities and assistance to smaller groups in the voluntary sector in the area, added Ms Baron.

By Rhea Alton and Tom Johannsen