Bucks woman jailed for defrauding charities

A woman has been jailed for defrauding a number of charities across Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.

Parvinder Matharu, aged 60, formerly of Delaware close, Iver, was jailed for two years and two months at Reading Crown Court on Thursday (23/5).

At a previous hearing, Matharu pleaded guilty to five counts of fraud by false representation.

Between 2013 and 2017, Matharu carried out the fraud offences against Iver United Charity, Wokingham United Charity, The Link Foundation, and another charity in Buckinghamshire that doesn’t wish to be named.

She set up a charity called Sewak based in Slough, which was meant to support people who needed housing, but instead of using the fundraising money to support vulnerable people, she kept it for herself.

Matharu gained the trust and support of various charities across Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to part with their money, and once again kept the money for herself.

The total amount she fraudently applied for was £54,000, of which she obtained £47,000.

Head of Thames Valley Police’s Central Fraud Unit, Detective Inspector Duncan Wynn, said: “Parvinder Matharu abused the trust placed in her to systematically defraud charities of a substantial amount of money purely for her personal gain. By doing this she left charities unable to provide critical funding for vulnerable people who were entitled to the charity funding that Matharu stole.

“Her offences were sophisticated and pre-meditated in nature, involving the setting up of fake applications and then providing false invoices to cover her tracks enabling her to commit the fraudulent activity over a sustained period of time.

“Wrongly, fraud is often seen as a victimless crime. In this case precious charity funds were stolen and left vulnerable persons at risk of harm and unable to get the support they needed.

“This conviction and subsequent sentence shows how seriously these offences are taken by the courts and sends a clear message that Thames Valley Police will relentlessly pursue fraud suspects and bring them to justice.

"If you suspect an offence of fraud, please contact us by calling 101 or leaving the information via our website. We will listen and support you.

“Great credit goes to Detective Constable Jags Sekhon, who diligently investigated this case throughout and ensured that the charities were supported in seeking justice."