A former senior manager at an addiction charity, who travelled overseas to avoid jail after defrauding the organisation out of almost £160,000, has been detained and returned to the UK for sentencing.
Donna Wells, 41, was employed as the service manager at Young Addaction Halton and used her position to transfer large amounts of money from its account into her friend’s food van business account. She also stole cash and used the company credit card to buy gift vouchers.
Investigators also found that Wells made dozens of transfers into business accounts linked to her and her friend’s husband, co-defendant Francis Jones. The court was told that Young Addaction Halton had been “effectively put out of business” as a result of Wells’ actions.
Police instructed Wells to appear in court in December last year but she failed to comply and travelled to Turkey before she could be sentenced.
On Monday 5 June at Liverpool Crown Court, she was sentenced, in her absence, to four years for fraud by false representation and acquiring criminal property between January 2018 and January 2020.
Cheshire Police subsequently worked with Turkish authorities to detain Wells and deport her back to the UK. She appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on 22 August, where she was told her four-year sentence still stands. Wells will serve an additional four weeks for breaching bail.
Jones was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.
Following Wells’ sentencing, detective constable Daryl Gavin said: “Not only did Wells fraudulently take a large amount of money, this money belonged to a charity committed to helping people in need.
“Instead of facing the consequences of her actions, Wells attempted to evade police before she could appear in court to be sentenced. But efforts continued to locate Wells, and have resulted in her being detained by Turkish authorities and deported back to the UK to be held accountable for her crimes.”
Young Addaction Halton is a charity that provides support to people with alcohol, drug or mental health issues.