Cancer fund fraud father who pocketed almost £1million jailed for five years...

Kevin Wright was told he will serve half his sentence before being released on licence (Picture: PA)

A man who pocketed significant sums of money in a fraudulent charity appeal has been jailed for five years.
Kevin Wright, 50, stole almost £1million from children’s’ cancer charities including one that he set up for his own son.
Not a great deal of the money went towards medical treatment, the court heard – instead it funded Wright’s ‘interests, investments and personal lifestyle’.
In 2005 he set up two funds for his son, Bobby, who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at the age of three.
However, Bobby responded well to treatment and was soon cleared of the disease.
Wright then decided to turn his efforts into helping others and set up funds for three other children suffering with cancer which were ‘fraudulent from the outset’.
The money was supposed to have helped towards payment on their treatment at a centre in New York, though none of it eventually was.
He stole £171,500 from his first Bobby Wright Cancer Fighting Fund and then almost £750,000 from the funds set up to help the other three children.
Some of the money went directly into Wright’s bank account, while some of it – £30,000 – was used to buy a restaurant in Exeter and another £20,000 was invested in a used car business.
Wright, who had previous convictions for theft and forgery, was banned from acting as a company director for seven years.
Passing sentence at Nottingham crown court, Judge Gregory Dickinson said: ‘I believe you have a genuine desire to help families in the same position – however that does not fully explain your actions.
‘You abused the generosity of the public. Your actions risked damaging the confidence in the system of charitable giving.’