AN ex-Brent Council boss who swindled £70,000 meant for underprivileged children and bought himself a Porsche has been jailed.

Patrick Lewis, 47, and Ingrid Sambrook, 58, together fleeced Brent Educational and Recreational Services (BEARS) Youth Challenge of £140,000, splitting the money two ways.

He was a senior executive at the council and chair of trustees at the charity while she used her position as managing director of BEARS to write checks to herself.

Lewis would countersign them and also siphoned cash into a “slush fund”, or secret account, for himself.

Lewis, of Brixton, was jailed for three years and eight months at Southwark Crown Court yesterday.

Sambrook, of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, walked free with a 12 month sentence suspended for two years and 240 hours community service.

Detective Inspector Lindsay Jarvis, from the Fraud Squad, said: “Lewis and Sambrook diverted public money for their own ends and thanks to the tenacious efforts of Fraud Squad officers in gathering evidence, they were left with little option but to plead guilty.

“The Met Police are robust in dealing with anyone who abuses their position of authority, especially when they are stealing money from those who require charitable donations.”

Simon Lane, assistant director for Audit and Investigation at Brent Council, said: “This is the culmination of a very drawn out criminal investigation and prosecution process.

"Brent Council acted quickly and decisively when concerns were raised by the Charities Commission about BEARS Youth Challenge, a group part funded by the council.

"In June 2007, Mr Lewis resigned from his post as Acting Chief Executive of South Kilburn NDC in the face of gross misconduct charges following a detailed investigation by the Brent Council’s Audit and Investigation Team.

"The Charities Commission and Brent Council made a joint referral to the police in July 2007 to consider criminal investigation.

"The council is pleased to see that our actions reached a conclusion in which a significant sentence has been given.

"This should serve as an appropriate deterrent to individuals who abuse their position of trust.”

The police are preparing an application to confiscate money from the pair to stop them benefiting from their crimes.

Lewis used his share of the stolen money to splash out on a Porsche, while Sambrook paid off her debts.

Most of the charity's funding came from the council and was supposed to go to educating the borough's children through a series of projects and activities.

Police launched an investigation into the pair after an intelligence led operation at the end of 2007.

The charity no longer exists.