Fraud gang forced to pay charities back over £100,000

Two members of a national fraud gang who fraudulently solicited charity donations have been ordered to give up their ill-gotten gains.

David Levi, 49, and Stephen Chesterman, 64, were part of an organised gang that scammed the public by pretending they were collecting charity donations, but none or very little of their collections ever made it to the charitable organisations.

They were convicted alongside five others in 2023, after it was found they had posed as collectors for charities including Great Ormond Street Hospital, Children in Need, Mind, The Children’s Society and Comic Relief.

Levi even went as far as dressing as well recognised Children in Need mascot Pudsey Bear, so that members of the public would donate to the gang. However, instead of donating to charity, they were funding their criminal lifestyles.

Now the charities can finally benefit, as Levi and Chesterman were handed Confiscation Orders totalling over £107,056, all of which will be paid to Children in Need, Mind, The Children’s Society and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Adrian Foster, Chief Crown Prosecutor of the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division, said: “These men preyed on the good will of members of the public, who believed their money was going to help people. Instead, the money was stolen to fund their own lifestyles. We are pleased that the money obtained by fraud is finally being given to the deserved charities, and the defendants have not benefitted from their ill-gotten gains.”

“In the last five years, £478 million has been recovered from CPS obtained Confiscation Orders, ensuring that thousands of convicted criminals cannot profit from their offending. £95 million of that amount has been returned to victims of crime, by way of compensation.”