A charity boss fled to Turkey and remains on the run after stealing more than £150,000 from the organisation and "effectively putting it out of business".
Donna Wells brazenly jetted out of the UK two days before she was due to face justice over her long-running campaign of fraud and is believed to remain abroad. The "greedy" conwoman transferred tens of thousand of pounds out of her employers' bank account and into that of her friend's butty van, as well as swiping cash and purchasing gift vouchers for herself using the company credit card.
Liverpool Crown Court heard this afternoon, Monday, that the 40-year-old pinched a total of £159,862 from Young Addaction Halton over a period of around 20 months in 2018 and 2019. Simon Christie, prosecuting, described how Wells first joined the charity - which was based at Grangeway Community Centre in Runcorn and offered support to young people addicted to drugs and alcohol, as well as those suffering from mental health issues - as service manager in 2014.
