A fraudster who made up a fake counsellor to con a bereavement charity has been jailed for a year.
Stephanie Jones, 30, defrauded 2 Wish Upon A Star by sending it false invoices worth £3,570 over nine months.
Police had to contact the family of a murdered girl to discover if she had helped them, as she had claimed.
At Caernarfon Crown Court Judge Nicola Saffman said the behaviour of “chronic liar” Jones, of Nebo, Gwynedd, was “vile, unthinkable and despicable”.
Jones had previously admitted fraud by abuse of position.
Patrick Gartland, prosecuting, said the charity was set up in 2012 to support families in the immediate aftermath of a child’s death.
He said Jones had applied for a job with the charity as an immediate support co-ordinator in February 2020.
She claimed to have a sociology PhD, which would have entitled her to use the title of doctor.
In reality she had taken a master’s degree at Bangor University.
She also falsely claimed she had a twin sister who had died from cancer aged five.
Fake company
Mr Gartland said she had given different accounts of the supposed death.
Jones’ job saw her refer bereaved families to counsellors, but she was not a counsellor.
But she made up a fictional one called “Sarah Jones” who had a fake company and address.
Invoices paid to Sarah Jones were paid under the name “S Jones” to an account which had Stephanie Jones’ sort code and account number.
The frauds took place between August 2020 and January 2021.
Elen Owen, defending, said her client “created something of a persona” and there was an element of exaggeration.
She said Jones had suffered a relationship breakdown, had large debts and in 2018 and 2019 had made complaints of a domestic nature.
Ms Owen told the court the fraud was not a pre-planned enterprise and that Jones was in a “deep and dark place” at the time.
‘Poor emotional state’
Her “poor emotional state” affected her “flawed” decisions, Ms Owen added.
She said Jones had clinical depression, a history of self-harm and a wheelchair-using mother who relied on her.
The court heard Jones had repaid 2 Wish Upon A Star.
Judge Saffman said Jones had brought 2 Wish Upon A Star’s name into disrepute.
She said: “You are a chronic liar and it was an abuse of trust on extremely vulnerable individuals.”
Jones’ behaviour had been “vile, unthinkable and despicable” and only an immediate prison sentence was appropriate, said the judge.
Speaking after sentencing, Det Sgt David Hall, of North Wales Police, said: “The actions of Jones were callous in the extreme, preying on the charity who are there to help people in their hour of need.”
Charity founder Rhian Mannings added: “Everyone at 2Wish is deeply saddened and disappointed by this clear breach of trust from Ms Jones.”
Source – BBC News
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