Charity boss admits £34,000 embezzlement

Elaine Fox is facing jail after pleading guilty to a charge of embezzling £34,136 from the East Neuk Recovery Group Initiative (Energi) between 1 January 2013 and 8 July 2017.

The 51-year-old, of Ladybank in Fife, had run the charity for more than 15 years but Dundee Sheriff Court heard this week that she as a co-signatory on the charity’s bank account and was in charge of writing cheques to cover the payroll for its 10 staff.

Her crime was uncovered when the group’s finance officer noticed money was missing from the account, and when challenged Fox admitted she had taken “advances on her wages”.

The court heard that Fox pleaded for the staff member not to inform the charity’s board and said she would take a £25,000 loan out to repay the organisation.

Defence solicitor Laura McGillvery said Fox had paid back £15,900 to the charity since police intervened in the case.

Sheriff Alastair Carmichael deferred sentence until next month for social work background reports and released Fox on bail meantime.