Admitted £11,000 fraud of Larne substance abuse support charity

With Mary Todd appearing at Antrim Crown Court by videolink, defence counsel Michael Boyd asked for one of the five charges against the 49-year-old fraudster to be put to her again.

Todd entered a guilty plea to count one of committing fraud by abusing the position she held with Preventing Addiction Larne in that on dates between January 27, 2016 and March 14, 2017, she wrote cheques payable to herself and a Michael Higgins “with the intention, by means of the abuse of that position to make a gain for yourself or another, or to cause loss to the charity.”

Following Todd’s admission of guilt, prosecuting counsel Mark Farrell asked for the four forgery offences “to be left on the books” but told Judge Patrica Smyth the first count incorporated the entirety of Todd’s offending.

The particulars of the four charges of forgery outline how Todd wrote two cheques to herself and two to M. Higgins for amounts totalling £11,180.

Applying for sentencing to be adjourned for both a probation report and a psychiatric report, Mr Boyd asked for the case to be put back for longer than usual “to give her a little more time to get some money together to address the issue of restitution.”

Todd, of Linn Road, was freed on continuing bail and Judge Smyth said she would pass sentence on 25 March once the reports and the lawyers’ submissions had been lodged with the court.

The Preventing Addiction Larne (PAL) centre was opened in 2012.

The charity began when a group of concerned mothers got together to try and find out as much as possible about so-called legal highs after the death of a local youth with thr aim of educating people about the realities of drug use. Around 300 people turned up at their first public meeting.

PAL was the Larne borough’s first centre dedicated to helping people affected by substance misuse, addiction, suicide and self-harm, providing support, guidance and counselling to addicts as well as to families and carers of people who abuse one or more of alcohol, prescription drugs, legal highs or hard drugs.