Chair’s Statement: Discovery of fraud against Friends of Breastfeeding
Friends of Breastfeeding have discovered that a former National Committee member of the charity, between July 2019 and March 2020, stole a significant amount of money from the charity. The money taken amounts to almost the entirety of the charity’s direct fundraising efforts for 2019. It includes the profit made from the All About Baby Fair 2019 and the Friends of Breastfeeding 10th Anniversary Gala Awards. It also includes donations received from the public at Mum2Mum Groups, via raffles, and other direct donations. We reported the criminal activity to the Gardai as soon as it was discovered and we have assisted with their investigation throughout this difficult year. An arrest has been made and a file has been sent to the D.P.P.. Operating under instruction from the Gardaí, we were not in a position to make this fraud public until now so as not to jeopardise the investigation. While we are deeply saddened to have become the victims of fraud, we fully accept our duty and responsibility to ensure every donation is used properly and for the purposes for which it was intended. As such, a thorough review of our procedures and practices has been conducted and we have already addressed the weaknesses identified. We have appointed a Vice Treasurer, which is an additional position to support our Treasurer. We have strengthened and amended many of our procedures to...
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