Charity con men in court (From Gazette & Herald)

Charity con men in court

RYEDALE beat bobby PC Ray Thwaites has labelled a group of charity tricksters who targeted elderly people with bogus badges as "despicable".

The Helmsley-based community officer was speaking after Kevin Weaver, 41, admitted selling £2 badges for the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS).

He was brought to justice after PC Thwaites caught one of his accomplices, Donald Theakston, at the home of a pensioner in Staithes, near Whitby.

A court heard that the two men targeted the homes of North Yorkshire residents with their money-spinning scheme, which illegally used police logos on its stationary.

Weaver told people 95 per cent of every sale went to the charity, when in fact almost two thirds was kept by the collector.

Trading standards officer Alex Lynn told the court Weaver had not done much "door-knocking" himself, but had employed others, including Theakston, who was given a 12-month conditional discharge last month.

He said: "In simple terms, Mr Weaver is the person who prepared the documents and issued them to Mr Theakston and other people."

Mr Lynn said another investigation was taking place elsewhere in the UK in connection with PAWS and, possibly, Mr Weaver's activities.

He said the PAWS charity has been discredited and is now closed.

Mr Lynn said Weaver claimed to have sent money to PAWS, but had only produced two cheque stubs written in 2002, one for £45 and another for £60.

Speaking after the case, PC Thwaites said: "I welcome the guilty plea. This was a despicable crime because he played on the kind hearts of elderly and vulnerable people.

"I hope the crown court sentence reflects the gravity of his deeds."

For Weaver, Craig Beer said his client had originally been employed by another man who was "possibly the bad egg" in the charity.

He said his client was misled about the amount of money which went to the charity.

He said Weaver had visited police stations in the areas he was operating in to inform them of his activities, and thought this entitled him to use the logos.

Weaver, of Cleveland, will be sentenced at Leeds Crown Court next month after admitting five counts of deception in Scarborough last summer.

Updated: 10:52 Monday, February 14, 2005