Couple sentenced for dog charity fraud

Two senior employees of a Birmingham dog charity have today been jailed after they pleaded guilty to stealing almost £900,000 from their employers.

Former Chief Executive Officer at Birmingham Dogs Home (BDH) Simon Price, 53, and his wife, 39-year-old Alayna Price, who was the Commercial Manager, stole £894,754.29 between 2012 and 2016.

Simon Price created false invoices for work on the new BDH site in Solihull and sent false invoices to sponsors. A property belonging to the charity based in Digbeth was sold and the proceeds totaling £399,274 were transferred into his personal account.

On 2 November 2016, the BDH became aware of the thefts and contacted police.

At Birmingham Crown Court today (22 December), Simon Price was jailed for five years and Alayna Price was given a two year suspended sentence after both pleaded guilty to fraud offences on 29 November.

Madhu Rai from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “These individuals were in a position of trust and responsibility which they both abused. Forensic analysis of the BDH’s accounts showed that through their knowledge of the charity’s finances and procedures, they defrauded the charity out of almost £900,000 pounds.

“Simon Price used most of the money he stole to feed his gambling addiction. Alayna Price paid off loans, putting a deposit down on the family home and paying for the couple’s wedding.

“The CPS will now take steps to recover the amount stolen.”