Cancer charity thief could be made to pay £70,000

A woman who stole money from a cancer charity set up in memory of her best friend's daughter could be ordered to pay back £70,000.

Lindsay MacCallum, 61, defrauded the charity Rainbow Valley over the course of a decade, after launching it with former friend Angela MacVicar.

She also embezzled £9,505 from the Anthony Nolan Trust - a stem cell donation charity.

MacCallum was jailed for three years in October after she pleaded guilty to two fraud charges.

A hearing at Falkirk Sheriff Court heard that the Crown could seek a confiscation order to recover the stolen money under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Advocate Deirdre Flanagan said it had been agreed that the 61-year-old had stolen a total of £95,483.48 from the charities.

The former Royal Navy servicewoman has already paid back £25,000 to the Rainbow Valley charity.

The court heard MacCallum took the money while being in no financial difficulty and has £175,000 in personal wealth.

Sheriff Craig Harris continued the case until 11 December in an attempt to ensure, that if the order is granted, the money is returned to the charities. He added that it is a "very complex legal scenario.”

Money recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act normally goes to the treasury or central bank.

A trial at Hamilton Sheriff court previously heard that MacCallum worked as a fundraising manager for the Anthony Nolan Trust from 1995 to 2012 before she left to set up Rainbow Valley with Mrs MacVicar.

In 2005, Mrs MacVicar lost her 27-year-old daughter Johanna to leukaemia and the foundation was established in her honour.

The pair worked together for 10 years before a fallout in 2022 which led to the discovery of discrepancies in an account set up for a fundraising ball.

Ms MacVicar previously told BBC Scotland News she felt "hurt and betrayed" by her former friend's actions.

She added it has "tarnished" her daughter Johanna's legacy but the charity has continued to flourish.