A fraudster who swindled money from a charity supporting people in Mapperley to pay towards a house he was buying has been jailed.
Darren Pickering, 37, was employed by community-based charity The Renewal Trust and Hungerhill Trading Limited between August 18, 2015 and 21 December 21, 2018.
Pickering swindled more than £73,000 from the charity and its trading subsidiary company which he used to work for – to pay towards a house he was buying.
The charity works with children, young people, adults and communities in St Ann’s, Sneinton and Mapperley – Nottingham’s Area 6 – and beyond.
It supports people by offering a number of young people’s programmes, community initiatives, sports programmes and employability assistance.
Pickering, of Bonsall Street, Long Eaton, was employed by the charity as a full-time property manager. Pickering transferred money from the trust to pay fraudulent invoices, with the funds going into his own bank account.
He used the money he’d fraudulently gained to pay a deposit on a house he was buying in Derbyshire.
On Friday (October 2) he was jailed for two years at Nottingham Crown Court after pleading guilty to a charge of fraud by abuse of position.
Detective Sergeant Anna Haynes, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was a significant amount of money for the charity which Pickering stole for his own selfish gain. He was a trusted member of staff but he abused and exploited his position.
“This was a complex investigation and I’m glad Pickering pleaded guilty. The evidence against him was overwhelming.
“I hope this case sends a clear message to those who believe they can abuse their position for their own financial gain that offences will be uncovered and you will be brought before the courts to answer to your crimes.”
A spokesperson for The Renewal Trust said: “This was a shocking matter for us and we are glad to see justice has been served.
“While we believe this was an isolated incident, we have worked closely with our auditors and undertaken a review of internal financial processing to help safeguard the charity for the future and are working towards recuperating the funds taken.
“We look forward to moving ahead and continuing to provide services and support people in our community.”
