Charity finance officer jailed for stealing Â£24,000

Finance | Vibeka Mair | 23 Jun 2009

A finance officer who stole £24,000 from service users of the National Autistic Society (NAS) Lancashire has been jailed for 14 months.

Julie Robb, who began working for the charity in 1999, pleaded guilty to five separate charges of theft at Preston Crown Court.

The court heard that Robb had gained specimen signatures from service users of the charity, provided to her because of their special needs, which she used to gain access to their bank accounts.

Her manager, Helen Clarkson, became suspicious and challenged her. In her defence, Robb claimed she had opened a new bank account for one client so that he could receive better terms of interest.

However, investigations by auditors failed to show evidence of this and Robb was sacked for gross misconduct, relating to a bogus invoice, in April 2007.

An NAS spokeswoman said the charity was pleased the case had been resolved and said none of the residents at the service suffered any personal loss through the incident.

Robb has paid back more than £10,000 of the missing money, and her partner Andrew Barclay has offered to repay the remainder of outstanding funds.

Who's Who: Vibeka Mair

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