A darts club treasurer who funnelled out tens of thousands of pounds from an organisation in Salford has avoided jail.
Irene Mungins, of Rudyard Road in Irlams o’th Height, Salford, pleaded guilty to fraudulently taking £23,000 from the Swinton-based community club the Lancashire Darts Organisation.
At Manchester Crown Court on Thursday 23 July she was given an 18-month prison sentence suspended for two years.
The scale of the fraud was uncovered when the club, based at Wellington Road, tried to buy a collection of new darts shirts and shocked staff found there was no money in the bank.
Managers said Mrs Mungins’ theft had brought them to brink of collapse.
Tens of thousands of pounds were found to be missing when suspicious staff launched an audit going back 7 years.
Mungins was appointed the club’s treasurer in June 2008.
After Greater Manchester Police spent many hundreds of hours building a case against her, she was originally arrested and charged with 16 counts of fraud totalling £39,633.
In a statement the Chairman of Lancashire Darts Organisation Tommy Thompson said: “This process has taken nearly three years to come to court.
“It is a very sad day not only for Mrs Mungins who was given the trust of not only the members but the committee she worked with so closely over many years, but for Lancashire Darts itself.
“We were nearly put out of business by Mrs Mungins’ actions and this could have affected players of the future progressing their careers, never mind the good name in the darts community of Lancashire Darts Organisation.
“Whatever punishment she receives will never compensate for the damage she by her irresponsible actions has caused to us all.”
Mungins will reappear at court on 19 October 2015 for a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing where the club will try to recoup its losses.
