A Huddersfield man has been jailed for stealing well over £200,000 from a charity.
Lee Martin Patterson has been sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment for fraud-related offences against a local charity.
The 51-year-old, of Heatherfield Crescent in Marsh, committed his crimes against the Leeds-based Christian faith charity, Bramley Family Support Project (BFSP).
He had previously pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court to two counts of Fraud by Abuse of Position and two offences of Fraud by False Representation.
Det Con Kate Hardaker from the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Fraud Team said: “These offences occurred over a prolonged period of time while Patterson was employed as the project manager of the charity and another related project called Wildfire.
“He has ultimately stripped the charity of thousands of pounds that would have been used to provide emotional and practical support to disadvantaged children and their families.
“He has clearly shown no regard for the consequences of his actions and seemingly cared more about personal gain than for those in the community he was charged with caring for.
“Between 2008 and 2012 he abused his position of trust and authorised withdrawals and payments from the charity bank accounts, causing a significant monetary loss to the charity which is currently valued at over £216,000.
“In order to disguise the misuse of charity funds from the Trustees, he manufactured his own version of the yearly charity financial reports to hide his offending.
“These were then produced to the board of trustees as legitimate audited financial reports, leading the trustees to believe that they provided a true financial record of the accounts.
“When other charity employees voiced their concerns to the Trustees over the misuse of charity funds, the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Fraud Team began an investigation which has resulted in today’s outcome.
“Confiscation proceedings will now be conducted by the North East Regional Asset Recovery Team with a hearing set for July 6 in order that Patterson’s ill-gotten gains can be recovered and repaid to the charity.”
