Hospice Treasurer Sentenced for Diverting Donations for Gambling

A hospice treasurer extended Christmas greetings to the charity she had defrauded, wishing them “a peaceful Christmas” while simultaneously attempting to conceal the theft of thousands of pounds. Nottinghamshire Police reported that Julia Scotney channeled funds collected for the Edwinstowe Hospice Support Group into her personal accounts, subsequently misleading her colleagues. The 64-year-old, residing at Maythorn Grove in Edwinstowe, admitted guilt to charges of fraud by abuse of position and false accounting. She received a two-year prison sentence, which was suspended for two years, following a court session at Nottingham Crown Court held on Tuesday. According to police, approximately £6,500 designated for the John Eastwood Hospice in Sutton-in-Ashfield vanished between February 2020 and January 2022. The police noted that these financial discrepancies remained undetected “due to the treasurer’s deception”. The stolen money was utilized to finance the defendant’s gambling activities, and a fabricated bank statement was produced in an effort to obscure the fraud. Scotney subsequently evaded attempts by her colleagues to contact her regarding their suspicions, prior to the commencement of a police investigation. She even asserted that she had invested the money through her business account and committed to returning it. On 24 December 2021, she had communicated with the charity chairperson, stating that the funds had been transferred and extending wishes for “a peaceful Christmas”. Detective Sergeant Marc Lancaster, from Nottinghamshire Police, stated that Scotney repeatedly redirected “much-needed funds away from the charity and into her own pockets instead”. He further commented, “[She] was entrusted to help ensure the money donated to this charity made its way to its intended target, but instead chose to abuse her position.” Lancaster concluded, “”She will have appreciated how much pain her actions would cause, but she chose to do it anyway.””