Mum of tragic Leeds United fan Toby Nye stole £100,000 from his cancer fund

Stacey Worsley pleaded guilty to fraud when she appeared at Leeds Crown Court today - less then two months after the death of the six-year-old.The Yorkshire Evening Post understands Worsley, who declined to comment when approached after the hearing, abused her position as a trustee of the fund to spend the money on gambling.

West Yorkshire Police has confirmed that all of the money has been recovered and that Worsley's offending did NOT affect Toby's treatment.

Toby was diagnosed with rare cancer neuroblastoma on his fourth birthday in January 2017.

The youngster's family launched an appeal to raise £200,000 to pay for therapy which was not available on the NHS.

The fundraising target was achieved with huge support from Leeds United.

Early testing after treatment showed his bone marrow was clear of cancer.

Tragically he was then diagnosed with a brain tumour and died on January 12, 2019.

Worsley, 32, of Osmondthorpe, Leeds, pleaded guilty after the fraud charge was put to her by the court clerk.

The full details of the charge were: "Stacey Worsley, between January 2, 2017, and March 30, 2018, you committed fraud in that, dishonestly and intending thereby to make a gain for yourself or another, or to cause loss to another, or to expose another to the risk of loss, abused her position as a trustee in respect of monies donated for the treatment of Toby Nye, in which she was expected to safeguard or not take against the financial interests of the said Toby Nye, by using approximately £140,700 of such monies for her own purposes, in breach of Section 4 of the Fraud Act 2006."

-> Toby Nye's funeral service as it happenedProsecutor Phillip Adams said Worsley had pleaded guilty to the offence on the basis that she had illegally obtained a lower figure of £100,000.

The basis of plea has been accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service.

There was discussion between counsel in the case and Judge Geoffrey Marson, QC, about money being recovered from online gambling companies.

The defendant - who appeared in court under the name Stacey Wosley - spoke only to enter the guilty plea and confirm her date of birth and nationality during the seven-minute hearing.

The case was adjourned for a probation service report.

Worsley was granted bail and will be sentenced on March 29.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: "As part of the investigation, police have secured the return of all of the money involved with a view to the majority being used to support an identical local good cause, which is yet to be decided on, and an amount being redistributed to identified key donors.

"At no point did the fraud affect the child’s medical treatment, which was funded separately."

A spokesperson for Leeds United said: "We can confirm that all money raised by supporters, players and staff of Leeds Untied during our Toby Nye campaign was ring-fenced by the club and used to pay for Toby's treatment."

-> For more stories from Leeds Crown Court as we get them, join our Leeds Crime & Incidents Facebook group