A TAUNTON mental health charity which was fleeced of more than £130,000 by a former employee may never recover most of the money, a court has heard. 

Craig Whittingham stole £133,000 from Mind Taunton and West Somerset - where he worked as a financial administrator – to feed his gambling addiction. 

Whittingham was jailed for two years at Taunton Crown Court on Friday, having earlier admitted two counts of theft. 

The court heard how Whittingham had turned to gambling after finding out his mother had developed terminal cancer and that his father too had cancer.

Prosecutor William Hunter said the amount of money stolen, which equated to 25% of the charity’s yearly turnover, had put its future at risk.

But a spokesperson from Mind told the County Gazette afterwards that it was not concerned for its future. 

The court heard 23-year-old Whittingham had been at university when he was told of his mother’s illness and moved back home to support her.

He got a job at Mind in 2010 and starting stealing in 2012, the court heard.

Mr Hunter said: “The defendant was responsible for the day to day running of the charity’s finances.

“They were helping him with his training and sending him on courses.

“They had two bank accounts, and earlier this year they noticed that there were discrepancies in the accounts.

 “The police were informed, and discovered that between October, 2012, and July, 2014, he had made 13 fraudulent transactions from the first account to his own of over £91,000.

“Between March, 2012, and July, 2014, he made 216 cash withdrawals from the second account, totalling over £40,000.

“When he was interviewed by police he told them he had a gambling habit, and had got into debt and into the habit of stealing money.

“He has said ‘sorry’ and has co-operated fully.”

The court heard that the charity’s insurance only covers £50,000, meaning it has lost more than £80,000.

Mr Hunter said: “The charity has lost confidence – the future of it is uncertain.”

The court heard how a psychologist’s report had found Whittingham was suffering from clinical depression and that he has a severe gambling disorder.

Defending him, Harry Ahuja said: “He started to gamble as a form of escapism as a result of difficulties he was facing in his personal life.

“It was a habit which soon spiralled out of control.

“He accepts full responsibility for what he did, and is extremely remorseful and ashamed.

“He didn’t want to take it upon himself to worry his parents about what was going on.

“He didn’t go and see his GP about his depression because he just thought he was low because of what his parents were going through.

“He felt he couldn’t admit to it because of the charity he worked for.

“This isn’t someone who stole for greed to buy things for himself; all the money has been gambled.

“He has been honest with his employers and the police from the start of the investigation.”

The court heard that there will be a Proceeds of Crime hearing in March to see if Mind can recover any more money from Whittingham. 

Speaking after the case, a spokesperson for Mind said: “As a result of this fraud we have closely reviewed our financial procedures to ensure that our systems are as robust as they can be. 

“We are also working closely with the police and our insurers, and are taking appropriate advice. 

“We continue to ensure that this has no impact on the charity’s delivery of services. 

“As before, we offer a range of valuable mental health support services, such as a helpline, bereavement support, advocacy, and peer support, to meet the needs of the local community of Somerset.

“Mind TWS has worked hard to ensure that there is no impact on the delivery of our charity’s services – while the fraud is regrettable we do not view it as putting the charity’s direct future at risk. 

“It has been a difficult period, during which we have moved to better and more accessible premises – our team here at Mind TWS have got us through this and we look forward to 2015.”

For help with gambling addiction, click here.