Church warden admits £67,000 fraud against city church

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Church warden admits £67,000 fraud against city church

Postby dutchman » Wed Dec 06, 2017 2:44 pm

Ian O'Hara will be sentenced in the new year

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A former church warden has admitted conning a Coventry church out of £67,000.

Ian Daniel O’Hara was charged with committing fraud against St Thomas’ Church, in Longford, by abusing his position.

The 54-year-old appeared at Coventry Crown Court on Friday, December 1, where he entered guilty pleas to the offences.

O’Hara, of Main Road, Ansty, committed the offences between January 2006 and November 2011.

Following his guilty pleas, the case was adjourned for sentencing to take place in the new year on January 5.

O’Hara was granted bail until he is sentenced.

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Re: Church warden admits £67,000 fraud against city church

Postby dutchman » Sun Jan 07, 2018 5:48 pm

A judge has warned dishonest Ian O’Hara ‘it may well be’ he is facing an immediate prison sentence

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A cheating church warden who stole more than £30,000 from his Coventry church’s funds, used some of the money to lease a car for himself and to buy football club season tickets.

And a judge has warned dishonest Ian O’Hara that, even though he is said to have paid back more than two-thirds of the money, ‘it may well be’ he is facing an immediate prison sentence.

O’Hara, 54, of Main Road, Ansty, has pleaded guilty to three charges of fraud in abuse of a position of trust as church warden at St Thomas’s Church in Longford, Coventry.

Warwick Crown Court has heard the offences were committed between January 2007 and January 2011 – at a time when O’Hara was expected to safeguard, or not act against, the financial interests of the church.

The charges detail that he used £10,000 worth of funds from what was known as the church’s Hawksbury Account, £16,000 from an HSBC account and £4,794 from a Coventry Building Society account, for his own benefit.

O’Hara had been due to be sentenced, and had turned up at the court with a large holdall, but prosecutor Graeme Simpson told the judge: “We have hit a snag.”

He explained that O’Hara’s barrister Ian Speed had previously indicated to the court ‘that the defendant had paid back a significant amount of money.’

Mr Simpson said that prior to the case being called on, he had been told that a total of £21,063.65 had been repaid by O’Hara, but he had not been able to verify that – and he asked for an adjournment for further enquiries to be made.

Of the repayment, Recorder Dean Kershaw said: “That is the strongest mitigation, in my opinion, although whether it saves him in the end, I don’t know.

“Enquiries have revealed that some of the money was spent on a lease car, a cleaner for his house and tickets for a football club.”

Mr Simpson replied: “Yes, two season tickets, one for himself, and one for his sister.”

The court heard that once his dishonesty was discovered, an agreement was initially reached with St Thomas’s that the money would be paid back.

It was only when further discrepancies came to light that it was decided to involve the police, and at that point the church suspended accepting any further payments.

Mr Speed said: “Initially they thought £67,000 was missing, and that’s why the police became involved, but there was an amended indictment setting out £31,000 because the original figure was unsubstantiated.”

Adjourning the case, and granting him bail, Recorder Kershaw told O’Hara: “It is important I know exactly how much money you have paid back.

“I would always hope that by the time I come to sentence you, all the money will have been paid back. It is an important aspect of your mitigation.

“But I don’t want you leaving court thinking this will not be a prison sentence. This was a very bad breach of trust.

“The first sentence in my mind at the moment is an immediate custodial sentence, but I haven’t made my mind up.”

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Re: Church warden admits £67,000 fraud against city church

Postby rebbonk » Sun Jan 07, 2018 7:35 pm

Doesn't sound like the prosecution know their ar$e from their elbow. There is rather a big difference between £67k and £31k. I don't think I'd like them to do my tax return :lol:
Of course it'll fit; you just need a bigger hammer.
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Re: Church warden admits £67,000 fraud against city church

Postby dutchman » Mon Jan 15, 2018 2:51 pm

Church warden stole £30,000 to pay for his mother's funeral

A church warden who abused his position to steal more than £30,000 from his Coventry church’s bank accounts has escaped being jailed after it was said he had paid it all back.

Cheating Ian O’Hara had used some of the money to pay for his mother’s funeral – but had also used some to lease a car and to buy two Coventry City season tickets.

And he pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to three charges of fraud in abuse of a position of trust as church warden at St Thomas’s Church in Longford.

O’Hara, 54, of Main Road, Ansty, who also admitted a charge of deception, was sentenced to 20 months in jail suspended for 12 months and ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work.

Prosecutor Graeme Simpson said the case had previously been adjourned after it was asserted O’Hara had paid back £21,000 of the amount he had stolen of ‘a shade under £31,000.’

“Efforts have been made to verify that, and I have a lengthy document which suggests he has paid back significantly more than that... a little over £31,000.”

Sentencing O’Hara, and ordering him to pay £1,000 costs, Recorder Dean Kershaw told him: “The real problem is the huge breach of trust which took place.

“You were deliberately moving funds for your own use, and there were some items which may be seen as extravagant.

“But I take into account the fact that you have pleaded guilty and the fact, I am told by the prosecution, that you have repaid close to the full amount, and I bear in mind the work you have done for the homeless.”

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