Age UK worker jailed for stealing £460k from charity

A former finance manager who worked for Age UK has been jailed after admitting stealing almost £460,000 from the charity.

Rachel Limbrick, 58, who worked at Age UK Gloucestershire, pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position in November.

She was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison at Gloucester Crown Court on Tuesday.

Judge Rupert Lowe told Limbrick: "The old people of Gloucestershire were deprived by you so you could go on your nice holidays."

The court was told that the fraud took place between 1 June 2016 and 31 May 2023, while Limbrick was working for Age UK's Gloucestershire branch.

She was confronted about missing funds on 12 July 2023 and immediately admitted she had taken £458,697, the court was told.

Limbrick paid back £470,000, to cover the money taken, plus an additional amount towards the cost of the investigation, following a civil agreement.

Age UK Gloucestershire said: "We provide direct support to over 10,000 older people.

"They feel they have been betrayed. The impact on employees is psychological.

"They have to deal with the day-to-day loss of trust."

Ellen McAnaw, defending Limbrick, told the court her client had "always struggled financially" and had been enduring "physical and mental abuse" by a partner while the fraud was happening.

She added: "The first time she stole money she felt physically sick, then she did it again and again and it became an addiction because of the lack of oversight from the charity.

"She spent it on the family and took them on holidays and gave them things she hadn't been able to growing up."

Judge Lowe told Limbrick that she had committed a "very large fraud, on a very vulnerable organisation".

However, the judge added it was "highly unusual" for someone to admit their crimes straight away.

"You will serve half of that sentence before you're released, it may be you serve a little less than that," judge Lowe added.

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