A man who claimed to be a vicar and secured positions at Merseyside charities has pled guilty to siphoning off £30,000 of grant funds due for good causes.

Appearing before Liverpool Crown Court George Gordon, 52, of Toxteth, pled guilty to 11 counts of fraud and nine counts of obtaining money by deception after campaign of conning charities between 2005 and 2007.

Gordon had bought the title ‘reverend’ from a Canadian website and, despite having been convicted in the 1990s on other charity fraud charges, worked his way into Merseyside charities dealing with disability and mental health. The number of charities from which he took funds is long. One charity he worked with, the Merseyside branch of Bipolar Organisation, was closed after his fraud was uncovered, but a subsequent Charity Commission investigation found the organisation had taken all necessary steps to protect users. He worked for the Merseyside Disability Foundation.

The fraudster obtained the money by applying for grants, including European Social Fund grants, destined for charities in Liverpool and the general Merseyside area, but pocketed himself. While the case brought before Liverpool Crown Court totalled fraud up to £30,000, he was charged last year with crimes amounting to £120,000 – after going on the run from police for three years.

In refusing Gordon’s application for bail, Judge Stephen Everett is reported to have warned the defendant: “There is an overwhelming case against you and the sentence is going to be a substantial one.”

Gordon is due to be sentenced on 22 March.

The Gordon case is one of a string of recent court cases relating to charity fraud, which late last month prompted the Charity Commission to release new guidance on how charities can prevent charity collection fraud in particular.