An animal rescue charity chief has been spared prison after a jury convicted him of a £190,000 fraud.
Christopher Tucker, 60, of Chantry Road, Bexhill, was given a 21-month prison sentence suspended for two years by Judge David Rennie at Chichester Crown Court yesterday (Thursday 28 March).
Judge Rennie heard that Chris Tucker raised the money for the Bexhill and Hastings Wildlife Sanctuary and Rescue.
Tucker raised the money from 2017 to January 2019 and claimed that it would enable him to buy out his ex-wife’s share in the property.
This would, he said, help to secure his semi-detached house – where the animal sanctuary was based – in a trust or community interest company.
He added that the money would be safeguarded officially for good causes and not benefit him or anyone else personally.
But in November 2019 Sussex Police received an allegation that Tucker had used the public-generated funds not just to buy out his ex-partner but to take sole ownership of the property.
After an investigation, Tucker was arrested and charged with fraud by false representation.
He denied the offence but a jury convicted him at the end of a five-day trial at Brighton Crown Court.
Tucker later pleaded guilty of contempt of court in relation to messages that he posted on social media.
In addition to his suspended prison sentence, Tucker was sentenced to a 10-week overnight curfew and ordered to carry out 10 days of rehabilitation activity.
He was also ordered to sign over half of the property, in Chantry Avenue, Bexhill, to a local wildlife charity whenever he sells it so that his fraudulently gains will eventually be used in ways that persuaded donors to give in the first place.
After the jury’s guilty verdict, Detective Constable Jake O’Reilly said: “In November 2019, Sussex Police were contacted following an allegation that Tucker had made promises to sign over his property to a trust which would oversee the future running of Bexhill and Hastings Wildlife Sanctuary and Rescue if enough money could be raised by supporters.
“When this amount was achieved, it was alleged that Tucker had then acted dishonestly and taken sole control of a large property where the rescue is based.
“A police investigation followed and evidence was recovered that Tucker had made this false representation to several witnesses, as well as on social media and in interviews with local radio.
“But his financial records and Land Registry papers confirmed the money raised had instead been used by him to take full ownership of the property in Bexhill.
“The result of this fraud was that Tucker had acquired a large mortgage-free house and the rescue – which is not a registered charity – was not safeguarded by an independent trust which would make collective decisions on its future.”
Sussex Police added: “This was a long and complex fraud inquiry involving a vast amount of donations and donors who were not given a true account of what would happen to their money.”
