Natasha Mason was spared jail as she appeared at Salisbury Crown Court for stealing more than £18,000 of charity money (Picture: Solent/Google)
A charity manager stole more than £18,000 she helped raise to pay for her bingo habit.
Natasha Mason took the money from funds raised at car washes she had organised in Wiltshire in aid of The Fire Fighters Charity.
Bingo was ‘escapism’ that offered her a ‘haven’ from a ‘toxic and abusive’ 25-year marriage, Salisbury Crown Court heard.
Mason, a regional fundraising team manager at the charity, was caught after ‘discrepancies’ were discovered between the cash raised and the amount that was ‘banked’.
The 46-year-old pleaded guilty to the theft and wept as Judge Timothy Mousley KC spared her jail.
She was instead handed a six month prison sentence suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 15 rehabilitation activity days and undergo mental health treatment.
Prosecutor Joshua Bowker told the court she had worked for the charity since June 2010.
Mason outside Salisbury outside court (Picture: Solent News & Photo Agency)
‘The charity provides support for for those in the fire service from the time they join until beyond retirement,’ he said. ‘She would attend events at various fire stations.
‘In November 2020, the charity became aware of a discrepancy in what was being raised at events and what was being banked.
‘They wrote to the defendant about where just under £3,700 was.’
Mr Bowker told the court she admitted stealing the money and said how ‘disgusted’ she was with herself for the theft and repaid it immediately.
‘The charity remained concerned,’ he continued, ‘and invited her to disclose any other incidents.’
However, the court heard she said she had actually over-paid her repayment and the charity gave her back about £700.
But after further investigation in 2021, she was interviewed by police about 64 different charity events, which were mainly car washes.
‘At 23 of the events she had stolen money totalling £18,677.82 and admitted further events but couldn’t quantify [the amount],’ he added.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the charity said the thefts had led to its workers being ‘tarred with the same brush’, concerns about whistleblowing and volunteers feeling their honesty was being ‘questioned’.
Salisbury Crown Court heard Mason had hit ‘rock bottom’ mentally and financially at the time of offending (Picture: Google Street View)
The court heard it had also affected the reputation of the charity and could lead to people not wanting to make donations.
In Mason’s defence, Kane Sharpe said The Fire Fighters Charity raises ‘in excess’ of £8million a year to offer ‘context’ to the figure of her theft.
He said she was ‘ashamed’ of her ‘terrible mistake’.
Mr Sharpe added that she had been in a ‘toxic and abusive’ 25-year marriage and was at ‘rock bottom’ mentally and financially at the time of the offending.
‘She is sorry to the charity and sorry for what she has done,’ he said.
‘To say this was out of character doesn’t do it justice – this was a complete aberration.
‘She turned to bingo as a haven, as escapism.’
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He said Mason, of Seend, Wiltshire, has begun paying back the figure via £100 a month payments.
Addressing Mason, Judge Mousley said: ‘Stealing from your employer is always regarded by the courts as being a serious crime, particularly as it was not momentary.
‘The serious feature of this case is you stole from a charity. You were in a position of trust, this was a breach of trust.
‘Your intention was always that the money would be paid back.
‘The money that you stole was used to pay off debts and household bills. For some reason you inexplicably turned to gambling, albeit at a low level.’
He said her chance of reoffending was ‘not a realistic one’ and that he was satisfied she could be rehabilitated in the community.
Mason must pay the charity back £5,000, but the court heard she plans to return the full amount.
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