Birmingham book-keeper spent £45k charity cash on holidays

Nov 3 2009 By Ross McCarthy

A BIRMINGHAM charity worker siphoned off more than £45,000 and spent it on holidays and gifts, a court heard.

But a judge decided not to send mother-of-two Jennie Rawlins to jail because of the effect it would have on her children.

Instead Rawlings, who was a book-keeper with the national volunteering charity CSV Environment, was given a suspended sentence.

Rawlings, 30, of Millington Road, Hodge Hill, admitted two charges of fraud and asked for 92 similar offences to be taken into consideration.

Birmingham Crown Court Judge Mr Recorder Ievins sentenced her to 51 weeks suspended for two years and ordered her to do 150 hours’ unpaid work.

He told her: “This was a breach of trust and a significant loss was caused to a particularly socially valuable employer.”

But he accepted that no redundancies had been caused by her actions and that he had taken into account the effect a sentence of imprisonment would have on her two children.

Claire Harris, prosecuting, said Rawlings had worked for CSV Environment’s branch in College Road, Saltley between 2003 and 2008 and had the trust and responsibility for cash and company cheques.