25/11/2009

Charity Thief Jailed

The boss of a charity who ruthlessly stole thousands of pounds donated to help Sickle-Cell Anaemia sufferers has been jailed for 18 months.

Ngoy Bin Ngoy, 39, a Congolese the founder and chairman of the Sickle Cell Advice Bureau (SCAB), based in the Lea Valley Industrial Estate, Edmonton, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court after pleading guilty to stealing £22,249 from the charity between January 2003 and December 2004.

Seven other counts of deception remain on file after Ngoy refused to plead guilty to them.

The court heard how Ngoy, of Rowley Gardens, Finsbury Park, duped the National Lottery, the Home Office, the Scarman Trust and other charitable funds into handing over thousands of pounds to help him provide a "drop in" service for Sickle Cell sufferers.

But instead of spending the money on charitable work he used it to supplement the state benefit payments he was already claiming.

He was arrested in March 2005 and later charged with a string of offences after an investigation by officers from the Economic and Specialist Crime Command, SCD6.

Sentencing, Judge Peter Testar told Ngoy: "There can be no doubt that this is a case which attracts a custodial sentence.

"It is important when money is obtained by way of grants for charitable purposes that the public has confidence that the money thereby obtained is not used dishonestly.

"These grants are of great public usefulness and in the right hands can alleviate much suffering."

He also formally commended investigating officers in the case DC Roger Boydell-Smith and DC David Lonergan for "a very, very thorough, proper and fair investigation".

DC Boydell-Smith, from the Economic and Specialist Crime Command, said: "This individual cynically betrayed his position of trust by systematically stealing charitable funds raised in good faith by members of the public.

"Money that should have helped those in need was used instead to fund his own lifestyle. Today's sentence sends a strong message to those intent on defrauding charities that they will be unequivocally held to account for their actions."

(BMcc/GK)

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