A charity cheat who fleeced the organisation she worked for out of more than £14,000 to pay IVF debts, council tax and fund her nephew at university has been spared prison.
Milanthi Welamedage was a trusted office manager for Becon, a now defunct charity which helped black and ethnic minority communities. She had worked there since 2000 but was dismissed in 2014 for gross misconduct after racking up a bill of £1,725 for international phone calls.
An audit was then carried out which revealed suspicious transactions, with cheques being paid to Newcastle City Council even though there was no need for the charity to be sending funds to the local authority. It turned out they were being used to pay council tax for Welamedage's home in Kenton, Newcastle.
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Between April 2013 and July 2014, 69 cheques were falsified to a total of £14,535. As well as paying more than £1,300 of council tax bills, the illegally obtained money was also used to pay off IVF debts and to fund her nephew at university in the UK after she felt under pressure to let him come from Sri Lanka to stay with her.
Welamedage, 58, of High Meadows, Kenton, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to fraud. The case had been delayed after she left the country to go to Sri Lanka but upon her return, police restarted the investigation.
At Newcastle Crown Court, Recorder Jonathan Sandiford QC sentenced her to ten months suspended for 12 months with 60 hours unpaid work. The judge told her: "You were a much-trusted employee and had a position of significant responsibility.
"It was an abuse of trust and there was a degree of sophistication about it. You have brought shame on yourself."
Sophie Allinson, defending, said Welamedage says the cheques were pre-signed blank cheques rather than her forging signatures. She added: "The defendant and her husband are educated people. They already had debts from IVF treatment which her husband was not aware of.
"A number of stresses build up. She's utterly disgusted in herself. It's difficult to get through a conference with her regarding this matter without it ending in tears. She's so ashamed and utterly remorseful."
The court heard her son has cerebral palsy and she regarded the thought of being separated from him to go to prison "heartbreaking". Miss Allinson added: "She accepts this was deplorable behaviour and she was in a position of trust."
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