Two trustees of a West Midlands charity have been banned for 12 years after admitting to fraudulently transferring charitable funds into their personal accounts.
Trevor and Eileen Fielding were trustees of Santa’s Black Country Toy Appeal, formerly known as Operation Santa, which raised money to help ensure all local children could have toys at Christmas.
But in February 2024, Stourbridge News reported that the pair had been interviewed by police after an allegation that they had withheld money from the charity, leading to them being conditionally cautioned and the charity referred to the regulator.
In the wake of their admission of fraud, Trevor and Eileen Fielding were disqualified from serving as trustees or senior managers of charities for 12 years, the Charity Commission has now revealed.
Santa’s Black Country Toy Appeal was removed from the register of charities on 6 January this year, with its last financial records showing it received £12,167 over the year to 31 August 2022, with an expenditure of £7,708 during the same period.
The register shows its funds as having been transferred to another Black Country charity, Stourbridge-based WeLoveCarers, which supports unpaid carers.
When contacted by Civil Society, a representative of WeLoveCarers confirmed an asset transfer had taken place but declined to give further details.
Accounts published this month by the Official Custodian of Charities showed the body was holding £800 in respect of Santa’s Black Country Toy Appeal, following the charity’s removal from the register.
A spokesperson for the Charity Commission said that despite the removal having been completed, it remained “focused on ensuring any outstanding charitable funds are protected and applied to charities with similar purposes” while its compliance case continues.
Charity benefited from mayors’ fundraising campaigns
Prior to its trustees being interviewed by police, which followed an allegation made in October 2023, Santa's Black Country Toy Appeal had been a popular local charity.
It was one of several chosen to benefit from campaigns by the mayors of both Dudley and Walsall in recent years, which raised tens of thousands of pounds.
West Midlands Police’s enquiries confirmed that a sum of money donated to the charity had been transferred to personal bank accounts.
“A 54-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman from Halesowen attended a voluntary interview in connection with the allegation,” the force said in a statement at the time.
“After admitting the offence, they both received a conditional caution and have undertaken a fraud and dishonesty course.”
West Midlands Police did not provide further information on the circumstances or amount of money involved when contacted by Civil Society.
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