Suspended Sentence For Homeless Campaigner Who Nicked £10K From Charity He Ran

An outspoken homeless campaigner, who forged invoices to take nearly £10,000 from a charity he ran, has received a suspended prison sentence.

Jamie Nalton, 41, was the director of The Simon Community, an outreach project for the homeless in Camden, north London.

The father-of-one, of Green Leas, Sunbury-on-Thames was sentenced at Blackfriars Crown Court to nine months imprisonment, suspended for two years.

He pleaded guilty that between June 12 and September 13, last year at The Simon Community, St. Martin’s Vicarage, Vicar’s Road, Kentish Town he stole £2068

Nalton also pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation between same dates, namely altering two invoices to make a gain, namely £7,800.

He was ordered to pay £2,400 compensation to the charity.

Criticising the government’s policy surrounding benefits and how they effect the homeless he once said: “There is a lot of misunderstanding around welfare reform and people are being sanctioned and ending up with no money whatsoever.”

The charity proudly announced Nalton’s arrival in their Spring 2015 newsletter, noting: “We are pleased to tell you that we have a new Director.

“Jamie Nalton joined us as an interim Community Manager last Christmas and has been with us since then.

In February he was appointed as the new Community Director and is now officially in post.

“Jamie has a lot of experience in the homelessness sector that he gained through working for C4WS, the Camden Winter Shelter providers, who organised the church winter shelters in the borough.

“Jamie first came to us when he was working as a consultant who travelled the country advising night shelter providers on best practice.”

Nalton himself said: “I am honoured to work for the Simon Community, a charity that not only helps those without support, but also campaigns on their behalf.” 

He is now a night-shift labourer on the Cheesegrater construction site in the City. 

Much of his mitigation centred on the medical condition of his wife Jhoana Nalton, 36, a weddings and home accessories designer, who was diagnosed with brain aneurysm in July, 2014.

Jhoana, who has a daughter, Jessica, 5, with Nalton had a stent implant to ease a bulging in blood vessel in her brain.

Previously commenting on homeless issues Nalton also said: “Not everyone is aware of services and there may be reasons they feel unable to engage with them.

“Some services in Westminster, for example, are only available to people with a local connection.

“I think we really need to understand more about why people are begging. Arresting people and giving them a criminal record is absolutely not helpful.

“The police need a better understanding of the issues that they are dealing with here.”