A cancer charity has spoken about "deception" and "broken trust" after a representative was found guilty of defrauding the charity of £226,000.
Jane Brookes, aged 54, was found guilty of failing to transfer £226,557.02 to Cancer Research UK while she was a charity representative.
Brookes, of Patch Street, Bromsgrove, had denied fraud by false representation and abuse of position whilst working for the CRUK Rubery Committee between January 2012 and November 2021.
However, she admitted taking £6,000 but said this was because she was suffering health issues and was in an abusive relationship at the time.
But the judge, following a Newton hearing - held when the facts of the case are disputed - decided that she had failed to transfer the full amount of £226,557.02 to the charity.
Simon Ledsham, director of Relationship Management at Cancer Research UK, said: "This is a deeply shocking case of deception and broken trust, and our immediate thoughts are with the families of those whose funerals saw mourners donate money to Cancer Research UK.
"It must have been extremely upsetting for them to learn that funds never reached the charity.
"Our life-saving research depends on the generosity of the public and faith in fundraising. When that faith is fractured it is distressing for all involved, though fortunately, such cases are rare."
The charity said that whilst an incident like this is uncommon, it has modified its financial control procedures to ensure any possible fraud is responded to swiftly.
Mr Ledsham added: "Having identified this incident, we engaged an independent audit firm to conduct a review of our volunteer fundraising financial control environment.
"Their recommendations have resulted in some modifications to our robust financial control procedures to help detect any fraud as swiftly as possible and prevent this very uncommon situation from happening again. We have also provided enhanced training to relevant fundraising staff raising the awareness of fraud risk.
"Like many charities, Cancer Research UK is having to respond to a challenging economic climate and the impact it has on our income. We will continue our work with our supporters across Worcestershire and beyond in our fight to beat cancer."
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