Woman stole £85,000 from charity in memory of friend's daughter

A judge said Lindsay MacCallum had brought "devastation" to those who trusted her, as ITV News' Neil Connery reports

A woman who stole £85,000 from a cancer charity she co-founded in memory of her best friend's daughter has been jailed for three years.

Lindsay MacCallum, 61, admitted to stealing the money from The Rainbow Valley Foundation between February 2013 and November 2021. She also embezzled more than £9,500 from the Anthony Nolan Trust.

The Rainbow Valley Foundation was jointly set up by MacCallum and her best friend Angela MacVicar, who lost her daughter Johanna to leukaemia in 2005 aged 27. It was aimed at helping those facing the disease, and their families.

On Tuesday a judge said she had brought "devastation" to those who trusted her.

Ms MacVicar said of her friend: "I loved her and I trusted her, and she was in a position of trust."

"I was bereft when I found out," Ms MacVicar added. "She fooled everybody."

Speaking after the sentencing, Ms MacVicar added: "She had a few apologies, and they were to her family, there was no mention of what she's done to our family and my daughter's name and I feel she's sorry she was caught."

“The ripple effect of hurt caused by Lindsay MacCallum runs deep. I ask people to remember this was one person, and one person alone, who breached the position of trust that was bestowed upon her."

MacCallum set up a bank account to receive donations for the charity, and arranged for them to be routed through a bank account she had access to in her official capacity.

She would then transfer the money to her personal bank accounts or use it to pay for her own expenses.

MacCallum told the court she intended to pay all the money back.

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Ms MacVicar is determined the Rainbow Valley charity will continue its work in memory of Johanna.

"The worst has happened to me, I lost my daughter," she said.

"There's not much more brutal a situation and we survived. So we will survive this, and we will build Rainbow Valley to a place that will make a huge difference to people who are affected by cancer because that's what Johanna's wishes were."

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