The founder of a legal advice charity has been referred to police after he continued to act as a trustee despite being disqualified, the Charity Commission has said.
The regulator has published a report into its statutory inquiry into the now-defunct Joint Armed Forces Legal Advocacy Service, which was established to provide free legal advice and was registered as a charity in 2011.
The commission said Alan Blacker, who founded the charity and was a trustee, was automatically disqualified from holding this position after being convicted of benefit fraud in 2020.
The regulator said he unsuccessfully applied to the commission for a waiver that would allow him to continue as a trustee and then had an appeal against this decision rejected by the charity tribunal in 2022.
The commission’s report says that despite this, Blacker continued to hold “significant control” over the charity’s funds and remained listed as a director of the charity.
“He appeared to continue to act as a trustee by directing the actions of the three other trustees, including answering correspondence from the commission on their behalf,” the regulator said.
The commission, which opened an inquiry into JAFLAS in July 2022 and immediately froze the charity’s bank account, said that in August 2022, it referred Blacker’s case to Greater Manchester Police.
Police were unable to give an update on the case when contacted by Third Sector.
The commission’s inquiry found trustees “failed to demonstrate a clear distinction between the charity and a private company” controlled by Blacker.
It said this was demonstrated by the similarities in the names of both entities and a proposed transfer of the charity’s assets into Blacker’s business, which is not allowed under charity law.
It also found donations made through the charity’s website went to Blacker’s account, which the regulator said could have misled people into thinking they were supporting a registered charity.
The regulator concluded that the response by the charity’s other trustees to Blacker’s automatic disqualification “fell short of the standard expected of them”.
It said: “They were either unable or unwilling to prevent him continuing to act as a trustee and appeared to have little control over the charity or its operation until it dissolved.”
The charity was wound up in December 2022 and removed from the register of charities.
The regulator also found trustees were “uncooperative and obstructive”.
It said: “On numerous occasions, legally binding orders and directions of the commission were ignored or not answered in full by the charity’s trustees.
“No substantial records or evidence demonstrating their management of the charity and its funds were provided to the commission during the investigation.”
The inquiry concluded that the trustees’ behaviour amounted to serious misconduct and/or mismanagement.
Blacker has been disqualified by the commission from being a charity trustee or holding a senior position in a charity for 15 years, adding to his automatic disqualification, which would have expired in October 2024.
Three other trustees – Paul Bohill, Stephen Ashforth and Julie Ashforth – have been disqualified for 10, seven and seven years, respectively, from 20 November 2023.
Amy Spiller, head of investigations at the Charity Commission, said: “Trustees are responsible for the administration and management of their charity, and for taking proper steps to respond when things go wrong.
“In this case, the trustees failed to respond appropriately to the automatic disqualification of a trustee.
“Charity trustees share ultimate responsibility for governing a charity and directing how it is managed and run.
“Where the conduct of trustees falls well below the standards expected, as is the case here, there can be damage to the reputation of the charity and of the wider charity sector itself.”