Charity boss is jailed for five years for theft of £100,000 theft

A charity boss who stole £100,000 from a fund he had set up to help sick children was yesterday jailed for five years.

Joseph Mulcahy and his partner, Maureen Lewis, founded the Dream Foundation to grant the wishes of terminally ill children. But as money poured in from generous benefactors, Mulcahy diverted large sums to abusiness he owned selling elastic shoe laces which he then sold back to the charity.

The month-long trial at Newcastle Crown Court heard how Mulcahy had also written cheques to himself from the Dream Foundation to cover credit card and mortgage payments, and had used charity money to pay for visits to Florida. The jury were told how the pair stole £90,000 in cash from the fundin addition to the value of the holidays. In passing sentence judge Guy Whitburn QC described Mulcahy, as "a hypocrite, a liar and a thief", adding: "The public and numerous businesses who encouraged their employees to sponsor dreams on behalf of this charity have every reason to feel betrayed."

Despite Mulcahy's 17 years experience of charity work, he had to nominate Lewis as a trustee of the fund because had been declared bankrupt. She received a 21-month sentence for her part in the fraud, with Mr Whitburn acknowledging she had been acting under Mulcahy's influence.

David Foley, a former Northumbria police officer who helped the couple set up the charity, went on to steal nearly £10,000 from it to pay off his own debts, unaware of the parallel fraud Mulcahy and Lewis were involved in. In sentencing him to 12 months imprisonment the judge admitted he was "deeply impressed" by Foley's previous good character.

Mulcahy, 56, and Lewis, 50, of North Lodge, Chester-le-Street, County Durham, were found guilty by a jury, while Foley, 55, of Sunniside, Gateshead, admitted to his crimes at an earlier hearing.