Private criminal prosecution following gross abuse of trust in a ‘beyond opportunistic’ charity fraud case.
R (Prison Reform Trust) -v- Samantha O’Sullivan (2025), Kingston-Upon-Thames Crown Court
On 23 July 2025, Samantha O’Sullivan was sentenced before the Kingston-Upon-Thames Crown Court following a fraud that was ‘beyond opportunistic’, in which over £307,000 was defrauded from the charity, Prison Reform Trust.
Within 3 months of being promoted by the charity to the role of Head of Finance, Ms O’Sullivan commenced her criminal activity with a payment of £8,400 and a further £6,750 just a few days later. This criminality continued for period of 7 years, disguised as payments to suppliers, payroll to employees etc., with multiple payments being made every month.
Background of the Prison Reform Trust:
Prison Reform Trust (“PRT”) is an independent UK charity which was founded in 1981 in response to concerns about rising prison populations. In advocating for a fair, humane, and effective penal system, PRT influences public debate, provides evidence-based research, and works collaboratively with the justice system to drive reform.
How the charity fraud was uncovered
In mid-2024 during PRT’s external audit for the year ended 21 March 2024, two payments made to an external supplier were selected for testing. On further investigation by PRT, it was identified that these payments were not made to the supplier but were in fact paid into Ms O’Sullivan’s bank account. Shortly after, PRT instructed S&W to investigate the fraud and conduct a forensic review of the relevant financial accounts.
Edmonds Marshall McMahon (“EMM”) were instructed with forensic accountants, S&W. The investigation discovered the extent to which Ms O’Sullivan grossly abused the position of trust that she was given within the charity. In total, between 11 July 2016 and 20 October 2023, she caused a total of £307,414.28 of the charity’s funds to be transferred into her personal bank accounts over 170 separate transactions for her own personal benefit.
Sentencing at Kingston-Upon-Thames Crown Court
Ms O’Sullivan was sentenced to 3 years 8 months imprisonment, reduced from 5 years following an early guilty plea.
The Judge remarked that:
You took just over £300,000. You have said that you were trying to make up for deficiencies in your children’s lives. They did not ask for it. You knew they had assessments concerning what they could afford for student loans and top ups. There might have been some complications and difficulties about your ability to be a guarantor for them due to your earlier conviction. This does not explain however the very great amounts taken. The effect of what you took was virtually to double your salary. 88% of your salary – vastly more than anyone could have expected…You spent money on holidays, electronic items as well…[from] 2020 there were multiple trips including at a more exotic location. So, this is not essential items, these are treats for yourself and others. It involved taking money from a deserving charity.”
Comments from Prison Reform Trust
Pia Sinha, chief executive of the Prison Reform Trust, said:
“Miss O’Sullivan’s actions represent an egregious breach of trust, which has been reflected in the sentence handed down today. Over the course of eight years, Miss O’Sullivan deliberately set out to defraud the charity of its funds, stealing money that was intended to support the 88,000 people in prison we serve.
“Given the gravity of the offence, a prison sentence was almost inevitable. As a charity focused on prison reform and rehabilitation, seeing a former colleague handed a custodial sentence has raised a lot of complex and difficult emotions. Despite the harm she has caused, and the need for justice to be served, we hope Miss O’Sullivan will have an opportunity to reflect on her actions and is given the support she needs to rehabilitate.
“PRT has also reflected on the lessons it needs to learn from this sad episode. We continue to believe in giving people second chances, but this must always be done responsibly and with appropriate safeguards in place. Our funders and donors place their confidence in us to be responsible stewards of their generous contributions and we take that role extremely seriously. As a result of bringing this case to justice, we have reviewed our policies and introduced robust safeguards to ensure such wrongdoing cannot happen again. We will always act in a way that protects our organisation, our donors and the people we support.”
This case of charity fraud was led by Ashley Fairbrother and Natalie Tenorio-Bernal at EMM, and Edward Franklin at 2 Harcourt Buildings.
Ashley Fairbrother commented:
“The message must go out to people who believe that charities are an easy target – they are not; these offences are serious, and the consequences are serious. Many people give their time and money to raise money for good causes. The efforts required to raise that money is great, and the theft of it is particularly egregious.”
If your charity has been a victim of fraud, our specialist charity fraud team can advise on whether a private prosecution is the right route to justice. Contact us here for a free consultation.
