The High Court has ordered a former charity trustee to repay £117,000, to be redistributed to local charities, after he misused charitable funds.
Frank Wingett Cancer Relief Fund was set up to raise money for the relief of cancer in Wales but in 2018 it was revealed that the charity had invested over £400,000 in plans to create a giant dragon statue.
The Charity Commission launched a compliance case into the charity in 2017 over concerns of its management and removed it from the register in 2019.
It wrote: “The charity came under scrutiny after its funds were misused to support the creation of a 210ft (over 60m) Welsh dragon statue as a tourist attraction. This project has no connection to advancing the charity’s aims and to date, no statue has been built.”
Simon Wingett, the trustee who ran the former charity, is now being ordered to repay £117,000 which, subject to recovery, will be distributed by the Commission to local charities supporting the relief of cancer patients in Wrexham.
The Charity Commission wished to apply for more money to be repaid but it only obtained evidence of £117,000 being misspent through its investigation.
Wingett has also been ordered to pay £9,755.00 to cover the Charity Commission’s legal costs.
The Official Custodian will oversee the recovery of funds which can then be redistributed by the Commission, who disqualified Wingett from acting as a charity trustee or senior manager for 10 years in 2019.
Tracy Howarth, assistant director of casework at the Charity Commission, said: “Charity trustees hold important positions of trust. We – and the public – expect trustees to ensure financial decisions are taken in the best interests of the charity and those it serves to benefit.
“Mr Wingett’s significant misuse of funds was an abuse of the trust placed in him by the many donors to the charity. This ruling will ensure the charitable proceeds raised are now directed to the benefit of those in the local community they were intended for.”
Related articles
