My greedy best friend stole £86,000 from my daughter’s charity

A lady whose finest buddy stole almost £86,000 from a charity arrange in reminiscence of her daughter believes her crimes had been fuelled by “greed, self-importance and narcissism”.

Angela MacVicar was in courtroom final week to look at Lindsay MacCallum plead responsible to 2 counts of fraud. MacCallum is now starting a three-year jail time period.

Over the course of 10 years, she defrauded most cancers charity Rainbow Valley by forging the signatures of employees and rerouting money. She additionally embezzled greater than £9,000 from the Anthony Nolan Belief, a stem cell donation charity.

Angela advised BBC Scotland Information she feels “damage and betrayed” and says it has “tarnished” her daughter Johanna’s legacy.

She believes “chilly” MacCallum intentionally focused her and their apparently shut friendship was constructed with the only real intention to deceive.

“She preferred very nice costly garments,” Angela, of Erskine, Renfrewshire, mentioned of her former buddy.

“She wished to stay a better way of life than she had. The damage and betrayal – that is laborious, even now.”

The previous buddies met when MacCallum was a fundraiser for the Anthony Nolan Belief.

Angela’s daughter Johanna had been recognized with power myeloid leukaemia, a sort of most cancers which impacts the white blood cells and bone marrow, at simply 16 years outdated.

She had a bone marrow transplant and subsequently received concerned with the Belief.

By this time, Johanna had grow to be a well known campaigner. She wrote a newspaper column, featured in a documentary about her work and was assembly celebrities like Robbie Williams to lift consciousness of leukaemia. Her mum was so proud that “Johanna did extra in 27 years than most individuals do in 90”.

Angela mentioned she and MacCallum rapidly grew to become shut buddies, phoning one another each morning at 06:00 and spoke three or 4 instances a day, even whereas on vacation.

“Our friendship was intense,” mentioned Angela. “We used to joke we had a mind between us”. She mentioned she trusted her “implicitly”.

Such was their closeness that when Johanna died in Could 2005, MacCallum, from Aberfoyle in Stirlingshire, requested to learn the eulogy at her funeral.

Seven years later, when MacCallum was made redundant, the 2 girls determined to arrange the Rainbow Valley charity in Johanna’s reminiscence.

MacCallum was in cost with Angela describing herself as a figurehead with nothing to do with the day-to-day working. Rainbow Valley provides counselling for most cancers sufferers and the households of these impacted by most cancers.

In 2022, MacCallum left Rainbow Valley and an account that solely she and one different particular person had entry to wanted to be closed.

It was then that the monumental fraud was found.

It was Angela’s different daughter Kendall, who labored within the charity’s workplace, who seen funds going out to MacCallum.

At first, Angela refused to consider it. She mentioned: “It was full disbelief, I used to be in denial. I used to be like, no, completely not an opportunity.”

She then phoned MacCallum. The denial, she mentioned, was flat and absolute – however then, realising Angela had proof within the type of financial institution statements, MacCallum admitted her guilt.

MacCallum mentioned she did it for her daughter, who was in bother and could not pay her lease.

Angela mentioned MacCallum initially apologised saying “I’ve let everyone down”.

However then she mentioned MacCallum struck a distinct tone. “She advised me, ‘Angela for those who take this any additional it would spoil me, and it’ll spoil you and it’ll spoil the charity,'” she mentioned.

A complete of £25,000 was paid again.

The subsequent day, Angela went to the police.

A number of months later MacCallum was arrested and the complete extent of the theft and deceit started to unravel.

She had taken virtually £86,000 from Rainbow Valley and one other £9,000 from the Anthony Nolan Belief. It was spent on garments and costly presents for herself and others.

Final week, Falkirk Sheriff Court docket heard MacCallum cast signatures of charity employees and rerouted money from fundraising accounts for her personal use between 2011 and 2021.

Angela mentioned she has questioned what makes somebody who’s well-off and never in monetary issue mastermind such an elaborate fraud towards their closest buddy.

She will give you just one idea.

“Self-importance and greed,” she mentioned. “She preferred very nice costly garments. She wished to stay a better way of life than she had.”

Angela and Kendall have mirrored on the brazen nature of the thefts. They each labored within the workplace, at instances alongside MacCallum.

Sitting only a few ft away it seems MacCallum’s generally every day pilfering came about proper in entrance of them.

Angela displays: “Kendall mentioned, mum once you take a look at the instances she was taking cash, she was sitting within the workplace transferring cash whereas I used to be sitting throughout from her. Her conscience wasn’t pricked then’.”

MacCallum’s repute is tarnished past restore – however not the charity itself. Angela says Rainbow Valley is flourishing.

Adjustments have been made and routine questioning of, even senior employees choices, are inspired.

Angela mentioned: “Inside the charity, I’ve put in place a ‘no-trust’ coverage, which sounds terrible – however you query, regardless of how senior and also you query it till you get the reply that it’s essential hear.

“If you work for a charity, it is a privileged place to be in. The message needs to be despatched out to the third sector that that is unacceptable.

“If she was simply getting neighborhood service, it might be well worth the danger. The message the sentence despatched out is that this shouldn’t be tolerated. It brings me no pleasure to know she’s in jail however the message is on the market that it will not be tolerated.”

Angela thinks about how you can sum MacCallum up. “She’s a narcissist. And she or he’s chilly.”

Regardless of the decades-long friendship, Angela feels the entire relationship was pretend and that she was intentionally focused.

“I feel she at all times set out with the intention to defraud,” Angela added.

Regardless of this, she insists: “I do not hate her, I hate what she’s achieved.

“The explanation I do not hate her is as a result of I do not know her. I by no means did. No one ever knew her.

“She lied to everyone and herself. She’s tarnished Johanna’s legacy, and that hurts.”