Shameful treasurer stole £38,000 of village social club's cash to feed gambling addiction

Trusted Geoff McGann was made treasurer of the Gawthorpe Conservative Club in Gawthorpe, near Wakefield, in 2014, but was harbouring a secret about his addiction. He even took out loans to pay back part of the money he had frittered away, but then also gambled that away as he desperately tried to recoup his losses.

The 53-year-old eventually confessed after he “ran out of road” and could borrow no further money to cover his tracks.

He was jailed for 20 months at Leeds Crown Court this week, after he admitted a charge of fraud by abuse of position.

Prosecutor Celine Kart said the club has 125 members, including two snooker teams. As part of McGann’s role, he would oversee the finances of the High Street club, document “incomings and outgoings” and produce annual balance sheets for the club’s committee members. In 2018, the stewardess of the club raised her suspicions to the club president about McGann’s dealings.

In 2021 McGann sent a letter of resignation, confessing his misconduct and his gambling addiction.

Following his arrest, he gave a prepared statement in which he confessed to taking the money through cash, bank transfers and cheques.

It was estimated that he spent nearly £38,000 of the club’s funds, but then was able to secure a £17,000 loan which he channelled back into the club. However, in a bid to cover the remainder, he tried to win back the rest and lost it all again.

McGann, of The Grove, Walton, has no previous convictions. Mitigating, Matthew Harding said he went undetected because he was able to secure loans prior to the club’s annual financial results being printed.

He added: “There came a point he could no longer do that. He reached, as he put it, a new low. He had run out of road. He could not secure money to make good the losses. That was the catalyst for coming clean. There is genuine remorse and regret.”

The court heard that he has since tackled his addiction and regularly attends Gamblers Anonymous. But Judge Simon Phillips KC said a custodial sentence was necessary after describing his conduct as a “persistent dishonesty”.