A gang of fraudsters posing as Pudsey Bear charity collectors defrauded the public of more than £500,000 in a decade-long scam.
Criminals staged fake charity collections at supermarkets in England and Scotland between 2011 and 2021, pretending to raise money for organizations such as Children in Need and Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).
The gang used T-shirts, logos and marketing materials they solicited from charities to give the impression they were legitimate charity collectors.
In some cases, they wore Pudsey Bear clothing purchased online and used email addresses and websites set up to look like legitimate charities.
But Preston Crown Court heard that although they collected collections in supermarkets from the south coast of England to Scotland, they only gave a small percentage of what was collected to charity.
When supermarket staff challenged fraudsters about fake collections, they were told they would lose their jobs or be reported to the national press.
The ring was led by 49-year-old David Levi, a convicted fraudster who claimed to be running a legitimate fundraising business and benefiting from disability benefits and an inheritance from his father.
He paid the rent for his flat in Lytham St Annes, Lancs, in cash and spent money on business class flights to Australia and a Hummer he imported from America.
In 2015, he paid £12,500 for a 28-night stay at a luxury villa in Australia; he also paid a further £10,500 for flights with Emirates.
When asked to account for the money she spent, Levi claimed she worked as an escort but was embarrassed to declare the money to HMRC and claimed she had inherited £100,000 in cash from her father.
‘Most of the money was pocketed’
She was assisted by Kaysha Beck, 31, who helped create charity collections at the store.
He contacted supermarkets, claiming the collections were endorsed by the store’s community champions.
When collectors were turned away, Beck pressured supermarket staff to pay for travel and accommodation, claiming the collections had been approved by head office.
Involved in the scam was 73-year-old Howard Collins, who helped organize the collections and went out to collect them. He introduced a number of people to GOSH and wrote letters claiming to be from the Northern England Events Office, which did not exist.
William Ormand was out collecting but was also interested in paying other collectors and appeared to have helped Levi. Martin Ebanks (59), Robert Roy Ferguson (63) and Stephen Chesterman (63) also raised money for the conspiracy.
Prosecutor Richard Atkins KC said: “Essentially this involved the defendants collecting money from the public under the guise that all the money raised would be transferred to charities whose logos were displayed.
“The reality is that only a small fraction of the money donated by the public reaches charities. Most of the money went into the defendants’ pockets. “In some cases, it is clear that money was deposited in charities as a smokescreen only after police intervention or other investigation.”
In 2014, Children in Need contacted Levi and Beck after realizing an email address purporting to belong to the charity was being used to organize collections.
Lawyers asked Levi to stop using the Pudsey Bear logo, but within weeks Levi was running a collection using the brand in a Waitrose store.
The following year he contacted the charity and asked to sign up for the fundraiser or seek official approval from Children in Need. Beck applied for and was sent fundraising packages to the BBC charity in 2016 and 2017.
Levi was arrested on June 21, 2017 and questioned about his involvement in the charity.
He was arrested several more times and released on bail, but in October 2022 police were informed he had been seen making collections at a Co-op store in Bollington, Cheshire. CCTV footage shows him entering the store carrying a folding table and a bag.
When Levi was arrested, officers seized Pudsey hats, a yellow bucket and a fundraising pack for Children in Need.
Levi pleaded guilty to fraud and transfer of criminal property in connection with the Children in Need conspiracy, fraud in connection with the Mental and Children’s Foundation conspiracies, and fraud while on bail in connection with the Children in Need conspiracy.
Beck pleaded guilty to fraud and transfer of criminal property in connection with the Children in Need conspiracy.
Collins pleaded guilty to fraud and criminal transfer of property in connection with the GOSH conspiracy and fraud in connection with the Christie Fund conspiracy.
Following a trial at Preston Crown Court, Ormand was found guilty of fraud and transferring criminal property in connection with the Children in Need conspiracy and fraud in connection with the GOSH and Children’s Society conspiracies.
Ebanks pleaded guilty to fraud in connection with the Children in Need and Children’s Association conspiracies.
Ferguson pleaded guilty to fraud and transferring criminal property in connection with the GOSH conspiracy.
Chesterman pleaded guilty to fraud in connection with the GOSH conspiracy and agreed to pay back £90,000 to avoid proceeds from the criminal investigation.
All defendants will be sentenced on Thursday.