A new Rotary Club member, who organised a charity skydive and gala dinner to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital, but pocketed £7,500 for himself, was jailed today.
Ex-stockbroker Akbar Siddiqi, 29, was given a six-month deadline to get himself a job and return a chunk of the money, but failed miserably.
He pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position between April 27, 2014 and August 3, 2015 while a member of the Tooting club and named on a bank account to be used for charitable purposes.
Siddiqi, of Nutfield Road, Thornton Heath was sentenced to twelve months imprisonment by Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court Judge Judith Coello.
“It has been very damaging to the reputation of the Rotary Club and very embarrassing,” she told him. “It was a mean, despicable and devious offence.
“There is little evidence of trying to find work, any work. You have not made sufficient efforts to meet these objectives.”
She rejected Siddiqi’s request for two more months to start paying compensation. “I consider that you have made half-hearted attempts in that regard.”
Prosecutor Alexander Boshell told the court: “He needed the Rotary Club for their global reputation and had a meeting with the club’s President Len Saker.”
Siddiqi joined the club in 2014, having been a regular guest for some months and proposed a sky-dive and gala dinner fundraiser.
Participants collected sponsorship for the sky-dive and tickets were expensive for the Central London dinner at the Connaught Rooms.
Both Siddiqi and Mr. Saker, who were the account signatories, promoted the sky-dive on Radio Jackie and £15,725 was made from both events.
However, Siddiqi secretly obtained a cash card and made 65 withdrawals totalling £4,105 and used the card to buy alcohol clothes, shoes, pay restaurant and hotel bills, a £638 internet dating site bill and top-up his Oyster card.
Two members even gifted him £250 awards they each received for services to the Rotary Club to cover his admin and time organising the events.
Immediately after the events Siddiqi stopped attending the club and constantly made excuses for not paying the money.
The club’s treasurer described the fraud as “traumatic” and the cause of a “great deal of distress” saying he felt “let-down and cheated.”
Mr. Saker said: “My initial reaction was amazement and confusion. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Akbar had been a trusted member of the club.”
Siddiqi’s lawyer Gudrun Fama told the court: “He’s a troubled young man and solved his problems with alcohol. Once he started drinking he couldn’t stop.
“He is aware how what he did was wrong. He was an alcoholic and did take the money during a difficult time in his private life, but he no longer drinks. He is able to redeem himself.”
Judge Coello said: “I gave him a chance six months ago to get his life back together and more importantly to pay back the organisation he defrauded, an organisation that can’t afford to lose any money.
“He knew he was at risk of an immediate custodial sentence and I put it off to repay the money. He knew he had to make every effort to show he met these objectives.
“He also had to show evidence of abstinence and he’s done absolutely nothing.”
The judge told Siddiqi: “You persuaded other members of the club to fundraise for charity, but unbeknownst to the other signatories and members you obtained a cash card for that account and took money destined for charitable purposes.
“Some of it, at least, was spent on your alcohol habit of the time. No real effort was ever made to pay back the money and it was a classic case of avoiding what you had done.”
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