Treasurer Accused of £200,000 Charity Fraud Over Nine Years

A Devon woman is currently standing trial accused of stealing £200,000 from a beloved local charity over the course of nearly a decade – a case that has drawn attention across the voluntary sector and raised urgent questions about financial oversight in small charities.

Geraldine Coates, 59, of Kings Road in Honiton, faces one charge of fraud by abuse of position. She is alleged to have siphoned off funds while serving as treasurer of the Honiton and District Agricultural Association (HDAA), a registered charity that funds local agricultural and educational projects and is perhaps best known for its annual agricultural show, which has run for more than 100 years.

Exeter Crown Court heard that Coates held the treasurer role from 1996 to 2018, with the alleged fraud relating to the period between 2009 and 2018. The alleged offending only came to light when suppliers were contacted and confirmed they had never received payments they were owed by the association. Prosecuting counsel Alistair Heggarty told the court that Coates – who runs her own bookkeeping company – had built long-standing relationships within the organisation, allegedly circumventing limited financial checks.

The prosecution told the court: “She took advantage of that trust over nine years to siphon funds for her own personal benefit.” The court heard that Coates transferred money directly into her own account.

Coates denies the charge. The trial continues.

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What the Data Tells Us: Charity Fraud in 2025

The HDAA case may be striking in scale, but it is far from unique. According to the BDO and Fraud Advisory Panel’s Charity Fraud Report: A Five-Year Review (2021-2025) – the most comprehensive sector survey of its kind – charity fraud remains a persistent and costly threat across the UK.

The 2025 report, which surveyed 164 charities (the highest response rate in the survey’s five-year history), found that 34% of charities reported fraud or attempted fraud in the past year. While that represents the lowest level since the survey began, it still equates to an estimated 9,000 to 18,000 frauds across the sector as a whole. Total losses among respondents alone were estimated at between £614,000 and £6.2 million, with an average loss per fraud of between £11,000 and £110,000.

The most common type of fraud reported was misappropriation of cash or assets – accounting for 34% of all fraud experienced – followed by payment diversion fraud (27%) and staff expenses fraud (25%). Critically for cases like the one before Exeter Crown Court, internal fraud by staff members, volunteers or trustees accounted for 38% of all detected fraud. The report notes that this is the lowest level of insider fraud in the survey’s five-year history, but it remains the single largest category of perpetrator.

Perhaps most relevant to the HDAA case is what the report says about how long fraud goes undetected. High-profile cases, it warns, show that frauds can go undetected for years – especially internal frauds, where a fraudster has the means and the opportunity to manipulate colleagues and conceal their actions. Internal controls remain the most common method of detection, accounting for 57% of discovered fraud. But the report’s findings also highlight a dangerous structural weakness in many charities: over-reliance on trust. Some 45% of charities identified this as a barrier to fraud prevention – a 22% increase from the previous year – with one respondent noting it is a commodity that is “hard to win and easy to lose.”

The financial cost is only part of the picture. Three-quarters of charities that experienced fraud reported non-financial consequences too. Reputational damage doubled from 12% to 25% year-on-year, while 32% reported a drop in staff and volunteer morale. In 9% of cases, charitable activities had to be limited or the charity closed altogether.

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What Is the Crime of Charity Fraud?

Charity fraud is a broad term covering any fraudulent behaviour in which charitable funds or the identity of a legitimate charity are exploited for personal gain. It falls under the wider framework of fraud law in England and Wales, and is taken extremely seriously by both the courts and regulators.

In practice, charity fraud can take many forms. The most common types include:

• Internal fraud – where an employee, trustee or volunteer in a position of financial trust misappropriates funds, as is alleged in the HDAA case.
• External fraud – where individuals outside the charity pose as the organisation to solicit donations, or target the charity with scams such as mandate fraud, CEO impersonation or phishing.
• Fundraising fraud – where money raised by or for a charity is diverted before it reaches its intended destination.
• Gift Aid and tax fraud – where false claims are made to HMRC in the charity’s name.

The key legal framework is the Fraud Act 2006. The most relevant offence in cases like the one before Exeter Crown Court is fraud by abuse of position – which applies when a person occupies a position in which they are expected to safeguard, or not to act against, the financial interests of another person, and dishonestly abuses that position with the intent to make a gain for themselves or to cause loss to another.

For charities, this offence is particularly significant because trustees and staff are routinely placed in positions of financial trust. The Charities Act 2011 sets out the wider regulatory framework, while the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA) introduced a new failure to prevent fraud offence that came into force in September 2025. This can hold larger organisations criminally liable where they fail to put in place reasonable procedures to prevent fraud by those acting on their behalf. The BDO report found that 79% of charities caught by the legislation had already taken action ahead of it coming into effect – an encouraging sign that awareness is growing.

Charity fraud is not treated leniently by the courts. Recent cases have resulted in custodial sentences, confiscation orders, and disqualification from serving as a charity trustee.

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Can You Report a Charity for Fraud?

Yes – and if you suspect charitable funds are being misused, you absolutely should. In the UK, there are several routes available to members of the public, charity staff, trustees and volunteers.

1. Report to Action Fraud

Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. Anyone can make a report online or by calling 0300 123 2040. Reports are compiled and passed to relevant law enforcement agencies for investigation. For cases in Scotland, reports should be made to Police Scotland.

2. Report to the Charity Commission

The Charity Commission for England and Wales is the primary regulator for registered charities. If you have concerns about how a charity is being run – including suspected misuse of funds – you can report directly to the Commission. For serious matters, this is treated as a serious incident report.

The Commission has powers to investigate, freeze assets, remove trustees and refer matters to law enforcement.

• In Northern Ireland, reports should go to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI).
• In Scotland, reports should be made to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).

3. Seek Legal Advice

If you are a trustee or senior manager within a charity and suspect internal fraud, you should seek legal advice promptly. Charities may also have the option of taking civil action to recover losses – including applying to freeze bank accounts or obtain disclosure orders – alongside or in addition to criminal proceedings.

4. If You Are a Donor

If you believe you have donated to a fraudulent or fake charity, report it to Action Fraud. You can verify whether a charity is genuine by searching the official charity register.

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The Wider Lesson for the Sector

The HDAA case is a sobering reminder that charity fraud can occur in even the most trusted, long-established organisations. The alleged fraud went undetected for nine years – not because those involved were careless, but because long-standing personal relationships and limited financial oversight created the conditions in which it could flourish.

The BDO report puts a number on this vulnerability: 48% of charities say they lack the internal resources to effectively prevent fraud, and 45% say over-reliance on trust is an obstacle – up sharply from 37% the previous year. A further 28% say they lack adequate fraud awareness, a 56% increase year-on-year.

The good news is that the sector is moving in the right direction. Reported fraud is at its lowest level in five years, 43% of charities now conduct an annual fraud risk assessment, and 91% of charities that experienced fraud took some form of remedial action afterwards. The BDO report found that charities that carried out fraud risk assessments or awareness training in the past year were less likely to experience fraud – a direct and measurable benefit.

The GOV.UK guidance on protecting your charity from fraud and the Prevent Charity Fraud campaign site both offer free, practical resources for trustees and finance leads looking to strengthen their controls.

For small and medium-sized charities in particular, the risks are real and the consequences can be devastating. But with the right safeguards in place – robust financial controls, clear whistleblowing policies, and a culture where concerns can be raised openly – the damage can be limited and those responsible held to account.

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Source: BDO LLP and Fraud Advisory Panel, Charity Fraud Report: A Five-Year Review (2021-2025). The Charity Champion will continue to follow developments in the Geraldine Coates trial. The trial continues at Exeter Crown Court.