I’m sure there are creatures lower than Kevin Wright, the man who stole a fortune from children’s cancer charities, but I just can’t think of any right now.
He even nicked funds raised to help his own son, who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer when he was three years old.
Wright set up the Bobby Wright Cancer Fund to help pay for treatment for his little boy who had neuroblastoma back in 2005.
Bobby is now 11 and cancer free, but his father stole £171,500 from a fund set up in his son’s name, as well as money from other appeals launched to help two three-year-old children, Callum Kaye and Armani Mohammad, who had cancer.
It simply beggars belief that anyone would do such a heinous thing.
People are incredibly generous when it comes to giving donations or raising funds for charity, especially when children are involved.
They go on sponsored walks, hold jumble sales and determinedly sell raffle tickets, and it is often those who can least afford it who give the most.
OAPs donate their pensions and little kids hand over their pocket money.
How on earth will all of those people who donated to the appeals set up by Wright be feeling now they know he has stolen a lot of the cash they worked so hard to raise?
Wright put the money into his personal bank account then spent it in a number of ways.
He gave £20,000 to a friend who had a used car business and another £60,000 was invested in a pub and restaurant.
He also bought £60,000 worth of premium bonds, perhaps hoping to be lucky enough to win a top prize.
Wright was sentenced to five years in prison, which probably means he’ll be out in less than two.
The judge called him dishonest, selfish and arrogant.
I am sure his friends and family will find it hard to forgive him, and the community, who thought he was a decent bloke, will never trust him again.
During the trial Wright bleated that he wanted to help other parents whose children had cancer and to provide enough funds to have them treated successfully, just like his son Bobby.
How on earth could he betray all of those he vowed to help, and why put the money into his own bank account?
Charities must, quite rightly, be squeaky clean and all fund raisers who don’t have a proper, fully documented, transparent accounting method are either hopelessly disorganised or not to be trusted.
Thankfully cases like these are rare and there aren’t many crooks who would use sick children as a way of feathering their own nest.
Wright is a pathetic excuse for a human being.
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