A charity shop manager who stole thousands of pounds of charity money after falling victim to an online romance scam has been spared jail.
Claire Starkey, 47 and of Strathlorne Close in Tranmere, Merseyside, stole just under £4,000 from one of Wirral Hospice St John’s charity shops between January and March this year, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
Starkey, who had been working for the charity for more than a decade, was struggling to pay her bills after sending sums of money to a man she had started an online relationship with, the court was told.
Starkey admitted to theft by employee and was handed a sentence of six months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.
She was ordered to serve a two-month electronically monitored curfew from 7pm to 7am and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 25 days.
Starkey was also ordered to return the money at a rate of £150 a month.
Steve Schroeder, chair of Wirral Hospice St John’s, told Third Sector that while Starkey’s actions had let down the hospice and its supporters, they should be reassured by the “rigorous processes” the charity had in place that brought the theft to light.
He said: “We are a charity that is committed to investing the generous financial support it receives from our Wirral community in providing patients with high-quality palliative and end-of-life care.
“We support the decisions taken by the police and the court and are pleased that a ruling was given regarding restitution of the loss.
“We move on from this sad case and remain focused on our mission for meeting the needs of our patients, their loved ones and the Wirral community as a whole.”