A woman who ran a charity for vulnerable women has been jailed for fraud after cheating the organisation out of more than £40,000 in salary overpayments, whilst acting in the role of finance officer and centre coordinator at the Harrow Women's Centre (HWC) in north London
Ruth Hiscock pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position and has been given a two year prison sentence.
Harrow Crown Court heard how Hiscock overpaid herself by a total of £40,497 from January 2013 until March 2015, having originally been employed as a bookkeeper and subsequently becoming the coordinator at HWC, an incorporated charity that was founded in 1992 and provides support and a range of services to women in the area.
One of the charity's board of trustees became suspicious in December 2014 when she realised that some people had not been paid. In January 2015 she was made aware that one staff member had not been paid for several months.
Shortly after, another board of trustees' member became aware that the HWC's finances had not been managed properly and the council had not been paid its rent.
The board of trustees approached Hiscock about the finances and were very concerned about her reaction. This prompted them to personally look into the HWC's finances. They quickly realised that bills had not been paid and Hiscock was overpaying herself.
In April 2015, Hiscock was suspended and an investigation took place. At a disciplinary hearing, Hiscock admitted the offence saying: ‘I hold my hands up I took the money and I admit I am guilty for all the payments that were taken on top of salary taken.’
Hiscock added that she could account for where the money is now and cannot repay it. She was dismissed for gross misconduct with immediate effect and the police were called. Police obtained Hiscock's bank statements and cross referenced them with HWC's statements, which established Hiscock overpaid herself £40,497. She admitted to taking £31,531 which was the amount accepted by the Criminal Prosecution Service.
The board of trustees said Hiscock's actions put the charity's future at risk.
Detective constable Phil Moor, the investigating police officer from Harrow Community Safety Unit, said: ‘Hiscock's selfish actions have had a significant impact on the community and almost resulted in the closure of a much-needed charity.
‘Hiscock abused her position of trust, deceived her colleagues, and took advantage of the HWC for her own gain for more than two years.’
In a statement, the board of trustees from HWC said: ‘In her capacity as finance officer and centre coordinator, Ruth had full knowledge and appreciation of the potential consequences of what she was doing and the devastating impact it would have on the HWC and therefore the community at large.’
