Ex-Cardigan Castle director Jac Davies sentenced for £43k theft

The ex-director of Cardigan Castle who stole more than £40,000 and defrauded the charity has been sentenced.

Jac Davies was jailed for 21 months, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to fraud and theft.

He took up to £43,000 from the charity's coffers over a two-year period, Swansea Crown Court heard.

Davies, 34, was described by the judge as a "thoroughly dishonest man" even "swearing on his daughter's life" as he told police he was innocent.

Judge Paul Thomas QC ordered him to complete 200 hours of unpaid voluntary work and 15 days of rehabilitation.

He told Davies his reputation "was in tatters" but accepted he had shown "genuine remorse".

Davies previously pleaded guilty to two charges of theft and two charges of fraud by false representation.

Judge Thomas said telling police he swore he was innocent "on his daughter's life" was even more "despicable" because she was in hospital at the time.

Prosecutor Danielle Lodwig told the court that the total losses to the charity totalled £43,052.44.

The first offence involved falsely claiming for an online hospitality course in December 2017, which Davies did not attend and using fraudulent receipts to show he had spent over £4000 of his own money to pay for the tuition.

Davies also stole over £6000 between October 2018 and May 2019, by linking his own PayPal account to the castle's online shop. The court heard that the payments ended up in his own personal account.

Money which should have been banked by Davies was also stolen, with the defendant originally telling trustees at the castle he had been delayed in depositing the cash.

Davies also used the castle's credit card for personal transactions at sites such as Prime Video, Tesco, the Celtic Manor and iTunes.

When questioned about this in December 2019, he said his own credit card had somehow become merged with the castle's business account.

He also continued using the card after telling trustees it had been destroyed. A total of £28,955.55 was accumulated on the castle credit card through his own personal transactions.

Judge Thomas said his actions were "not a momentary lapse... but a sustained course of deliberately dishonest conduct".

In sentencing Davies, the judge accepted he was of "previously clean character" and showed "genuine remorse" for the offences.

The defendant was warned he would be sent to prison if he committed further offences.

The court heard Davies had lodged £40,000 with his solicitors, but another hearing will be held to determine the exact amount he will be expected to pay back.