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Cat Haven charity fraud Crosshaven

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  • 08-12-2019 8:04pm
    #1
    Ak8888ak
    Registered Users Posts: 3 ✭


    Rte investigates have discovered fraud in the Cat Haven charity in Crosshaven.

    Apparently the owner was using the charity's bank account for his own gambling habits. The charity was a large operation with over 80k in donations and numerous highly public appeals for funding including GoFundMe.

    Hopefully the gardai can freeze the remaining bank balances to return to the donors!! Shocking to use peoples good nature in this way!!!
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    #2
    corks finest
    Registered Users Posts: 8,628 ✭✭✭corks finest


    Ak8888ak wrote: »
    Rte investigates have discovered fraud in the Cat Haven charity in Crosshaven.

    Apparently the owner was using the charity's bank account for his own gambling habits. The charity was a large operation with over 80k in donations and numerous highly public appeals for funding including GoFundMe.

    Hopefully the gardai can freeze the remaining bank balances to return to the donors!! Shocking to use peoples good nature in this way!!!

    The bollox-,must be a crisshaven thing, postmaster a few years ago,what next?


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    #3
    Weltsmertz
    Registered Users Posts: 308 ✭✭Weltsmertz


    No different really than those that pay themselvesassive salaries while running "awareness' charities. Most organised charities are scams.


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    #4
    Corholio
    Registered Users Posts: 14,014 ✭✭✭✭Corholio


    Shame this happened as it was a good charity which helped a lot of cats get homed and looked after. It was the charities old account that was being used after some donors were not told of the change of bank account a year ago. The primary account was not used and the guilty party had no access to this.

    Hopefully the charity can continue in some form or another.


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    #5
    MrDerp
    Registered Users Posts: 990 ✭✭✭MrDerp


    Corholio wrote: »
    Shame this happened as it was a good charity which helped a lot of cats get homed and looked after. It was the charities old account that was being used after some donors were not told of the change of bank account a year ago. The primary account was not used and the guilty party had no access to this.

    Hopefully the charity can continue in some form or another.

    Yeah this looks like a poor enough mistake rather than wholesale misappropriation of funds.

    The charity is very genuine. They attended an abandoned house with me before to take care of a cat stuck on a roof. I do hope they can continue their work as they did a hell of a lot for cats in Cork.


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    #6
    Sonics2k
    Registered Users Posts: 8,237 ✭✭✭Sonics2k


    MrDerp wrote: »
    Yeah this looks like a poor enough mistake rather than wholesale misappropriation of funds.

    The charity is very genuine. They attended an abandoned house with me before to take care of a cat stuck on a roof. I do hope they can continue their work as they did a hell of a lot for cats in Cork.

    Absolutely not a poor mistake, he was literally gambling away the funds.

    Certainly he had good people working for him, but he was still misappropriating the funds.


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    #7
    corks finest
    Registered Users Posts: 8,628 ✭✭✭corks finest


    MrDerp wrote: »
    Yeah this looks like a poor enough mistake rather than wholesale misappropriation of funds.

    The charity is very genuine. They attended an abandoned house with me before to take care of a cat stuck on a roof. I do hope they can continue their work as they did a hell of a lot for cats in Cork.

    Mistake!??????? Gambling funds is not a mistake it's criminal,as having been involved in a Romanian orphanage charity for approximately 12 years if funds are used for anything other than the charity it's a scam


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    #8
    Weltsmertz
    Registered Users Posts: 308 ✭✭Weltsmertz


    corks finest wrote: »
    Mistake!??????? Gambling funds is not a mistake it's criminal,as having been involved in a Romanian orphanage charity for approximately 12 years if funds are used for anything other than the charity it's a scam

    Get off your high horse. He took the money from the Charity's bank account. But many in the charity industry make a lot of money from their involvement. Say he gambled €30,000.
    Enable Ireland spends €40 million a year on "governance" One of the execs there is on €150,000 a year plus expenses. Paid for out of donations.
    Say she spent €30,000 of that gambling. Is it really any different.
    And you could argue that looking after a few stray cats is more worthwhile than much of the work done by the "awareness" charities. e.g. suicide awareness, autism awareness, cancer awareness etc. And at least it doesn't do harm like the "black baby" African charities.
    Just because he took the money less legally doesn't make it all that more immoral.


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    #9
    Oasis1974
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,077 ✭✭✭Oasis1974


    MrDerp wrote: »
    Yeah this looks like a poor enough mistake rather than wholesale misappropriation of funds.

    The charity is very genuine. They attended an abandoned house with me before to take care of a cat stuck on a roof. I do hope they can continue their work as they did a hell of a lot for cats in Cork.

    I saw that on the news was the top story the cat was interviewed after said he was scared of heights couldn't come down.


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    #10
    MrDerp
    Registered Users Posts: 990 ✭✭✭MrDerp


    Weltsmertz wrote: »
    Get off your high horse. He took the money from the Charity's bank account. But many in the charity industry make a lot of money from their involvement. Say he gambled €30,000.
    Enable Ireland spends €40 million a year on "governance" One of the execs there is on €150,000 a year plus expenses. Paid for out of donations.
    Say she spent €30,000 of that gambling. Is it really any different.
    And you could argue that looking after a few stray cats is more worthwhile than much of the work done by the "awareness" charities. e.g. suicide awareness, autism awareness, cancer awareness etc. And at least it doesn't do harm like the "black baby" African charities.
    Just because he took the money less legally doesn't make it all that more immoral.

    I’m open to correction here, but the RTÉ article said it was an account in the name of the shelter which existed prior to them achieving charitable status. There were still some donors paying into it, after they’d opened a new account and achieved charitable status.

    I didn’t read anything which said funds from the registered charity’s accounts were used.

    Now of course I’m splitting hairs, and there’s certainly questions to answer, but it hasn’t been established that charity funds were abused, rather some people were not paying into the charitys bank account, but a business/personal account and this has to be accounted for. The revenue may wish to examine this income stream, for example.


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    #11
    Weltsmertz
    Registered Users Posts: 308 ✭✭Weltsmertz


    MrDerp wrote: »
    I’m open to correction here, but the RTÉ article said it was an account in the name of the shelter which existed prior to them achieving charitable status. There were still some donors paying into it, after they’d opened a new account and achieved charitable status.

    I didn’t read anything which said funds from the registered charity’s accounts were used.

    Now of course I’m splitting hairs, and there’s certainly questions to answer, but it hasn’t been established that charity funds were abused, rather some people were not paying into the charitys bank account, but a business/personal account and this has to be accounted for. The revenue may wish to examine this income stream, for example.

    It was an account in the name of the charity. And money coming in to it was from those that assumed they were donating to the charity. Clear fraud and misappropriation of funds. Possible criminal prosecution. There was a second account set up later which he did not have access to but he still fraudently spent money that was donated to the charity.


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    #12
    Ak8888ak
    Registered Users Posts: 3 ✭Ak8888ak


    Corholio wrote: »
    Shame this happened as it was a good charity which helped a lot of cats get homed and looked after. It was the charities old account that was being used after some donors were not told of the change of bank account a year ago. The primary account was not used and the guilty party had no access to this.

    Hopefully the charity can continue in some form or another.

    I would not agree with this comment. The betting transactions on the bank statement probably only tip of iceberg. How much money was withdrawn and spent in gambling shops. I've learnt the owner has a colorful history too


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    #13
    Keplar240B
    Registered Users Posts: 883 ✭✭✭Keplar240B


    I assume every Irish charity and NGO is corrupt.


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    #14
    Diziet
    Registered Users Posts: 831 ✭✭✭Diziet


    Keplar240B wrote: »
    I assume every Irish charity and NGO is corrupt.

    That's a terrible assumption. I am on the board of a (smallish) charity and it is certainly not corrupt.


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    #15
    corks finest
    Registered Users Posts: 8,628 ✭✭✭corks finest


    Weltsmertz wrote: »
    Get off your high horse. He took the money from the Charity's bank account. But many in the charity industry make a lot of money from their involvement. Say he gambled €30,000.
    Enable Ireland spends €40 million a year on "governance" One of the execs there is on €150,000 a year plus expenses. Paid for out of donations.
    Say she spent €30,000 of that gambling. Is it really any different.
    And you could argue that looking after a few stray cats is more worthwhile than much of the work done by the "awareness" charities. e.g. suicide awareness, autism awareness, cancer awareness etc. And at least it doesn't do harm like the "black baby" African charities.
    Just because he took the money less legally doesn't make it all that more immoral.
    e40 million?🀷 FFS kinda exaggerated there bud


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    #16
    Weltsmertz
    Registered Users Posts: 308 ✭✭Weltsmertz


    corks finest wrote: »
    e40 million?🀷 FFS kinda exaggerated there bud

    Does seem high. Can't find where I got that figure. It does have 52 employees on over 70k.


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    #17
    the dark phantom
    Closed Accounts Posts: 772 ✭✭✭the dark phantom


    Keplar240B wrote: »
    I assume every Irish charity and NGO is corrupt.

    Most of them are. These organisations always attract dishonest haughty types who keep a little for themselves.


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    #18
    Corholio
    Registered Users Posts: 14,014 ✭✭✭✭Corholio


    Most boards posters are right pricks.

    A fair generalisation I think you'll find.


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    #19
    Corholio
    Registered Users Posts: 14,014 ✭✭✭✭Corholio


    Ak8888ak wrote: »
    I would not agree with this comment. The betting transactions on the bank statement probably only tip of iceberg. How much money was withdrawn and spent in gambling shops. I've learnt the owner has a colorful history too

    Which comment did you not agree with? I was stating my experience with the charity and what was said in the news report. What was the colourful history then? Probably = fact these days it seems.

    I wouldn't want him near the charity in future but it was doing a lot of good.


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    #20
    BDI
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,005 ✭✭✭BDI


    Gambling is horrible.

    Charities have a lot of messing going on.


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    #21
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 17,728 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    He was reported to the charitiies regulator on many occasions

    https://www.rte.ie/news/investigations-unit/2019/1206/1097504-charity-closes-after-complaints-to-regulator/

    Cat Haven was granted charitable status by the Charities Regulator in December 2018 despite complaints made about the charity’s governance and, in particular, financial controls, by Anne Cleary, a former trustee and volunteer.

    Ms Cleary, who is also a former garda, continued to raise concerns with the Regulator after it was granted charitable status.

    Ms Cleary told RTÉ Investigates, " I contacted the Regulator numerous times, my concerns have never been properly addressed," she said. "I wanted the rescue to succeed," she added, "I wanted it to be run properly and I wanted the Regulator to deal with it properly, I wanted to ensure safeguards were put in place for governance and financial controls. It is a shame because Cat Haven has done phenomenal work for cats in Cork."


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