My vain and greedy best friend stole £86,000 from our cancer charity

A pistillate whose champion person stole astir £86,000 from a foundation acceptable up successful representation of her girl believes her crimes were fuelled by "greed, vanity and narcissism".

Angela MacVicar was successful tribunal past week to ticker Lindsay MacCallum plead blameworthy to 2 counts of fraud. MacCallum is present opening a three-year jailhouse term.

Over the people of 10 years, she defrauded crab foundation Rainbow Valley by forging the signatures of unit and rerouting cash. She besides embezzled much than £9,000 from the Anthony Nolan Trust, a stem compartment donation charity.

Angela told BBC Scotland News she feels "hurt and betrayed" and says it has "tarnished" her girl Johanna's legacy.

She believes "cold" MacCallum deliberately targeted her and their seemingly adjacent relationship was built with the sole volition to deceive.

"She liked truly bully costly clothes," Angela, of Erskine, Renfrewshire, said of her erstwhile friend.

"She wanted to unrecorded a higher manner than she had. The wounded and betrayal - that's hard, adjacent now."

The erstwhile friends met erstwhile MacCallum was a fundraiser for the Anthony Nolan Trust.

Angela's girl Johanna had been diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia, a benignant of crab which affects the achromatic humor cells and bony marrow, astatine conscionable 16 years old.

She had a bony marrow transplant and subsequently got progressive with the Trust.

By this time, Johanna had go a well-known campaigner. She wrote a paper column, featured successful a documentary astir her enactment and was gathering celebrities similar Robbie Williams to rise consciousness of leukaemia. Her mum was truthful arrogant that "Johanna did much successful 27 years than astir radical bash successful 90".

Angela said she and MacCallum rapidly became adjacent friends, phoning each different each greeting astatine 06:00 and spoke 3 oregon 4 times a day, adjacent portion connected holiday.

"Our relationship was intense," said Angela. "We utilized to gag we had a encephalon betwixt us". She said she trusted her "implicitly".

Such was their closeness that erstwhile Johanna died successful May 2005, MacCallum, from Aberfoyle successful Stirlingshire, asked to work the eulogy astatine her funeral.

Seven years later, erstwhile MacCallum was made redundant, the 2 women decided to acceptable up the Rainbow Valley foundation successful Johanna's memory.

MacCallum was successful complaint with Angela describing herself arsenic a figurehead with thing to bash with the day-to-day running. Rainbow Valley offers counselling for crab patients and the families of those impacted by cancer.

In 2022, MacCallum near Rainbow Valley and an relationship that lone she and 1 different idiosyncratic had entree to needed to beryllium closed.

It was past that the monumental fraud was discovered.

It was Angela's different girl Kendall, who worked successful the charity's office, who noticed payments going retired to MacCallum.

At first, Angela refused to judge it. She said: "It was implicit disbelief, I was successful denial. I was like, no, perfectly not a chance."

She past phoned MacCallum. The denial, she said, was level and implicit - but then, realising Angela had grounds successful the signifier of slope statements, MacCallum admitted her guilt.

MacCallum said she did it for her daughter, who was successful occupation and couldn't wage her rent.

Angela said MacCallum initially apologised saying "I've fto everybody down".

But past she said MacCallum struck a antithetic tone. "She told me, 'Angela if you instrumentality this immoderate further it volition ruin me, and it volition ruin you and it volition ruin the charity,'" she said.

A full of £25,000 was paid back.

The adjacent day, Angela went to the police.

A fewer months aboriginal MacCallum was arrested and the afloat grade of the theft and deceit began to unravel.

She had taken astir £86,000 from Rainbow Valley and different £9,000 from the Anthony Nolan Trust. It was spent connected apparel and costly gifts for herself and others.

Last week, Falkirk Sheriff Court heard MacCallum forged signatures of foundation unit and rerouted currency from fundraising accounts for her ain usage betwixt 2011 and 2021.

Angela said she has wondered what makes idiosyncratic who is well-off and not successful fiscal trouble mastermind specified an elaborate fraud against their closest friend.

She tin travel up with lone 1 theory.

"Vanity and greed," she said. "She liked truly bully costly clothes. She wanted to unrecorded a higher manner than she had."

Angela and Kendall person reflected connected the brazen quality of the thefts. They some worked successful the office, astatine times alongside MacCallum.

Sitting conscionable a fewer feet distant it appears MacCallum's sometimes regular pilfering took spot close successful beforehand of them.

Angela reflects: "Kendall said, mum erstwhile you look astatine the times she was taking money, she was sitting successful the bureau transferring wealth portion I was sitting crossed from her. Her conscience wasn't pricked then'."

MacCallum's estimation is tarnished beyond repair - but not the foundation itself. Angela says Rainbow Valley is flourishing.

Changes person been made and regular questioning of, adjacent elder unit decisions, are encouraged.

Angela said: "Within the charity, I've enactment successful spot a 'no-trust' policy, which sounds atrocious - but you question, nary substance however elder and you question it until you get the reply that you request to hear.

"When you enactment for a charity, it's a privileged presumption to beryllium in. The connection should beryllium sent retired to the 3rd assemblage that this is unacceptable.

"If she was conscionable getting assemblage service, it whitethorn beryllium worthy the risk. The connection the condemnation sent retired is that this should not beryllium tolerated. It brings maine nary joyousness to cognize she's successful jailhouse but the connection is retired determination that it won't beryllium tolerated."

Angela thinks astir however to sum MacCallum up. "She's a narcissist. And she's cold."

Despite the decades-long friendship, Angela feels the full narration was fake and that she was deliberately targeted.

"I deliberation she ever acceptable retired with the volition to defraud," Angela added.

Despite this, she insists: "I don't hatred her, I hatred what she's done.

"The crushed I don't hatred her is due to the fact that I don't cognize her. I ne'er did. Nobody ever knew her.

"She lied to everybody and herself. She's tarnished Johanna's legacy, and that hurts."