THE leader of Brent Council says “justice has been done” after a senior executive was jailed for stealing from a charity.
Patrick Lewis, 47, was handed three years and eight months in prison by a judge at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday for a plot to siphon off £140,000 meant for underprivileged children.
As well as working for the council, he was the chair of trustees at the charity, BEARS Youth Challenge, and split the money two ways with the managing director Ingrid Sambrook, 58.
He used the cash to buy a Porsche, while Sambrook, who was handed a 12 month suspended sentence and 240 hours community service, spent her share paying off her debts.
Councillor Ann John, leader of Brent Council, said: “These people have taken money that doesn't belong to them so justice has been done.
“It's quite a shock when people who you have known for a long time have been stealing money. It's not very nice.
“They took money that was meant to be there for young people in a very deprived area of the borough – that makes it worse – but at the end of the day it's still theft.”
The charity was based in Stonebridge, Cllr John's ward, and ran education projects for children from across the borough.
It no longer exists and the building it was based in has since been knocked down.
Lewis was the acting chief executive of South Kilburn New Deal for Communities (NDC), an organisation which channeled government money into the area, judged in 2001 to be one of the 39 most deprived in the country.
He resigned in June 2007 facing charges of gross misconduct after an investigation by the council, which then led to a referral in July that year by the authority and the charities commission to the police.
Simon Lane, assistant director for audit and investigation at Brent Council, said: “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.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here