The former parish clerk to the Upwood & The Raveleys Parish Council admitted to committing a fraud over a 3 year period. The clerk defrauded the parish council of nearly £6000.00. The parish clerk, Jane Haggar pleaded guilty to the charges at Huntingdon magistrates court. Due to the seriousness of the offence sentencing was referred to the Crown Court and she was jailed for 12 months.
The fraud came to light when Parish Councillors expressed concerns and ordered an internal audit at which point the clerk aknowledged that the funds were not hers.
Duncan O’Donnell, prosecuting, said...
“Mrs Haggar was first appointed to the role in 2007 and had a good reputation from her previous jobs.
“Councillors first became concerned in 2010 when the minutes of the meeting did not accurately reflect the decisions they were making.
“Concerns then arose about financial discrepancies, and an inspection was carried out.
“Many of the invoices had no receipts and cheque stubs did not correspond to cheques going out.”
