Charity trustee jailed for £245k fraud in Pembroke

A “greedy” former trustee has been jailed for four years after stealing nearly a quarter of a million pounds from a Welsh not-for-profit company.

Liza Haines, 54, of Clos Cilsaig, Dafen, Llanelli, siphoned off £245,410.63 from Sazani Associates in Pembroke between 2018 and 2023. The firm delivers programmes in education and sustainable development in Europe and Africa.

Swansea Crown Court heard Haines was the operations manager and trustee with financial responsibilities including payroll, pensions and VAT returns. When her fraud was uncovered, the company’s bank accounts were empty and directors had to take out personal loans to pay staff wages.

Prosecutor Emily Bennett told the court the organisation “is committed to helping communities in poorer regions.”

The devastating impact saw employees lose their jobs, offices closed in Carmarthen and Zanzibar, projects cancelled, and the company left owing £93,000 to the taxman.

Company director Dr Ian Clegg, a retired university teacher, personally read his victim statement in court. “We were left shocked and bewildered,” he said. “Liza was trusted to play an important role and her betrayal of that trust struck a personal blow to all of us.”

He continued: “We’ve had threatening letters from creditors which has caused personal anxiety and professional damage. This was a calculated deception. I have seen it take a physical and mental toll on my fellow directors.”

The court heard Haines had a previous conviction for theft from 2007, when she stole around £7,000 while working as an administrator at St Mark’s Court Care Home in Swansea. She received a nine-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, but failed to disclose this conviction when applying to Sazani Associates.

Defence barrister Dyfed Llion Thomas said: “The primary mitigation for her is the guilty plea. There is genuine remorse.”

Judge Paul Hobson told Haines: “You knew full well the risks you were taking. Motivated by greed, you ignored those risks. This was a labour of love for the people who built this organisation up. Your work life was a sham. You knew full well the financial harm you were inflicting. The effect of what you did has been devastating. You are an habitually dishonest individual.”

Haines pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment. A proceeds of crime hearing is scheduled for 23rd April next year.