Whitchurch charity theft woman jailed

A 40-year-old Shropshire woman who stole more than £19,000 from a county charity, which forced it to be dissolved, has been jailed for 10 months.

Louise Charlotte Stokes, of Park Road, Whitchurch, transferred the cash from the bank account of North Shropshire Voluntary Action to her own bank account over a two-year period, while she was the chief officer of the charity.

She previously admitted two charges of fraud by dishonestly abusing her position by electronically transferring money from the bank account of North Shrewsbury Voluntary Action to her own bank account between April 1, 2007 and March 31, 2008, and April 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009.

At Shrewsbury Crown Court today she was sentenced to 10 months in prison on each count, to run concurrently.

Mr Robert Edwards, prosecuting, said the Whitchurch charity supported voluntary and community groups in the region.

He said in March 2008 auditors found a large number of transfers from the internet bank account, the passwords of which were only held by Stokes.

He said the nauthorised transactions totalled £19,358.15 and two people lost their jobs when the charity was dissolved.

The court heard the trustees are under investigation by the Secretary of State, as a result of the fraud, and face being disqualified as directors.

Mr Andrew Holland, for Stokes, said that she was very depressed throughout the time the offences took place.

He said: "The situation arose as a result of having to bring up her family single-handedly.

"She is debt-ridden, she was left in a very difficult situation by her partner and she wanted to do the best for her children."

He added that she tried to make good the overpayments by taking less than her salary and had paid back a large amount by the time the theft was discovered.

By Rhea Alton