Ex-Serviceman Defrauds Veterans Charity

A former member of the Royal Navy is facing jail after admitting defrauding a veterans' charity out of nearly £50,000.

Andrew Gallie, who served in the Royal Navy between 1998 and 2011, reportedly stole the money to feed his gambling addiction.

He began working for the Not Forgotten Association in November last year.

The 38-year-old made a total of 57 payments to himself while employed as the charity's office co-ordinator, a court heard.

Gallie, from Gillingham in Kent, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, where he pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud by abuse of position to a total amount of £47,600.

The Not Forgotten Association provides entertainment for wounded or sick servicemen and women, as well as veterans with disabilities.

The charity was welcomed to Buckingham Palace in May as Prince Harry hosted his first garden party, joining hundreds of veterans on the lawns.

Magistrates declined jurisdiction to sentence Gallie, telling him the case will be dealt with at Southwark Crown Court at a date to be set.

Prosecutor Henry Fitch said when Gallie was confronted he confessed to the scam in an email to bosses:

"He admitted defrauding the organisation by making payments to himself when he ought to have been paying for invoices, to fuel his gambling addiction".

The court heard Gallie was handed a two-year conditional discharge in October last year after pleading guilty to a similar offence in which he defrauded a care home where he worked out of around £738.

On Tuesday, he also pleaded guilty to breaching the order and will be sentenced for the offence along with the fraud.

Jennifer Siddorn, defending, said Gallie came out of the Royal Navy to spend time with his wife and three children, but the marriage broke down because of his gambling problem.

The solicitor said Gallie started at the charity as a fundraiser but began taking money when he was trusted with the petty cash.

"It then rolled and rolled and rolled," she added.