A charity manager who fraudulently obtained more than £95,000 from two cancer foundations and channelled the cash into family bank accounts over a period of ten years has been jailed for three years.
Lindsay MacCallum, 61, fraudulently obtained £85,978.48 from the Friends of Rainbow Valley charity which had been set up by a former friend.
And she forged signatures by two former charity office-bearers on eight cheques valued at £9,505 from the Aberfoyle Friends of Anthony Nolan Trust.
MacCallum, of Aberfoyle, Stirlingshire, was sentenced at Falkirk Sheriff Court after she admitted two charges of being involved in a fraudulent scheme between 2011 and 2021.
She will now be the subject of confiscation action under Proceeds of Crime legislation to recover monies illegally gained.
Helen Nisbet, Procurator Fiscal for Tayside, Central and Fife, said: “This was a shocking betrayal of trust by someone who had financial oversight of funds from two cancer charities.
“I am sure people will be appalled that charity donations given in good faith and intended to benefit some of those affected by cancer have been stolen to fund McCallum’s lifestyle.
"It is vital that the public have confidence that the money they raise and donate to charity goes to those for whom it was intended.
“The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is committed to tackling financial crime of this kind.”
The court heard how between 1995 and 2012 MacCallum was a fund-raising manager for the Anthony Nolan charity which specialises in the areas of leukemia and stem cell donation.
Her job allowed her to carry out transactions provided any cheques were countersigned by one of two office-bearers.
By 2007, the two signatories had left the group. However, the account for Aberfoyle Friends of Anthony Nolan remained open.
MacCallum was made redundant from her role with the charity in 2012 but continued to take funds from accounts by forging signatures.
The court was told that, between July 2011 and September 2016, eight unauthorised cheque payments signed by MacCallum and at least one of the co-signatories worth a total of £9,505 were debited from the charity’s account.
The former co-signatories confirmed to police that their signatures had been forged and said they recognised MacCallum’s handwriting.
In July 2012, the accused’s friend set up the Rainbow Valley charity and employed MacCallum as a paid project development manager.
The two worked together for several years before their relationship deteriorated. In March 2022, MacCallum stepped down from her role with the charity.
In August that year, a review of Rainbow Valley’s accounts by charity officials revealed several unaccounted-for-transactions linked to the charity’s annual ball.
After being asked for an explanation, MacCallum admitted stealing money from the charity and said in a Facebook post: “I’ve let everybody down. I’m so sorry.”
The court heard that between 2013 and 2021 MacCallum deposited £48,027 into two personal bank accounts, £5,045 into a joint account with her husband and £1,670 into accounts for her grown-up children.
She was also revealed to have spent £21,056 on a credit card as well as £4,210 on products from Next.