Bogus charity collector who conned Rainham commuters jailed
A bogus
charity collector who pocketed commuters’ donations has been jailed
for 13 months.
Roy Bardy was sentenced after
pleading guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation.
The court heard how, over a period
of three years, Bardy, 48, recruited volunteers and employees to
stand at railway stations across the country, including Rainham, to
collect money for charities.
British Transport Police officers
were first alerted to what was going on when commuters complained
of suspicious behaviour by Bardy and his collectors at several
stations.
Bardy was arrested in November
2010. Evidence at his office and home were seized and examined by
detectives.
It was then officers discovered the
extent of fraud Bardy had been running. He was approaching
charities and offering his services as a charity collector and
fundraiser to recruit teams to stand at stations and collect
donations.
He would establish contact with the
train operation companies seeking to have authorised charity
collectors at stations on specific dates.
Collectors were then able to attend
in possession of appropriate ID and letters from charities,
completely unaware of what was being said and done in their
name.
At Rainham railway station, he set
up a collection for NAS International, a charity which helps sick
and abused children.
Sentencing Bardy, of Dagenham,
Essex, to 13 months imprisonment Judge Henry Blacksell said: “You
are a manipulator, and a dishonest man.”
Speaking after the sentencing,
investigating officer DC Mike Ganly said: “This is a sad case that
has seen commuters’ kind generosity and donations to charities
unknowingly taken by Bardy and pocketed himself.”
06/02/13
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