Charity boss 'plundered' funds

A man and his girlfriend "systematically plundered" tens of thousands of pounds from a charity for dying children, a court has heard.

Joseph Mulcahy, 56, and Maureen Lewis, 50, pocketed the money over a seven-year period from the Dream Foundation, a jury at Newcastle Crown Court was told on Thursday.

The couple, of North Lodge, Chester-le-Street, County Durham, both deny conspiring to defraud the charity between January 1994 and December 2000.

Mr Mulcahy - who had 17 years' experience of charity work - helped found the charity which helped terminally-ill children to fulfil their wishes.

Due to an undisclosed bankruptcy, Mr Mulcahy was barred from being a trustee and was given the position of fundraiser.

Ms Lewis took the role of trustee instead.

Fund diversion

Stephen Duffield, prosecuting, said: "Notwithstanding the genuine charity work which was done, the Crown's case is the funds of this charity were systematically plundered for personal benefit by Joseph Mulcahy and to a lesser extent by his partner of long standing, Maureen Lewis, and what is more they were not alone."

The jury was told that another man, former police officer David Foley, had already pleaded guilty to stealing from the charity.

Mr Mulcahy faces nine further charges of theft of more than £45,000 and two counts of obtaining property by deception by making false insurance claims of nearly £10,000 in relation to a separate business, all of which he also denies.

Opening the case on Thursday, Mr Duffield said: "The allegation is the fraud perpetrated on the Dream Foundation was as a result of an agreement reached between the two defendants to benefit themselves at the charity's expense."

He said it was from 1997 that Mr Mulcahy and Ms Lewis had become heavily involved in the diversion of funds from the charity's accounts.

The case continues.