While running Girl Guide groups, two sisters stole nearly £450,000 through a charity Gift Aid scam, a court heard. The money went for the sisters' loan payments, home renovations, clothing, lodging, vacation, and luxuries.Due to their deception of the taxpayer by claiming payback for nonexistent donations over a six-year period, Sara and Jean Barnbrook were sentenced to prison. Between 2013 and 2019, Sara, 54, falsely claimed over £482,000 in Gift Aid repayments, of which £446,000 were disbursed, and her sister Jean, 51, assisted with money laundering, according to the Leeds Crown Court.Sara was said to have spent £24,000 on luxury items, £20,000 on clothes and £20,000 on leisure. Jean was said to have spent £67,000 on luxury items, £40,000 on home improvements and £30,000 on hotels.

On Monday, Sara was jailed for three years after pleading guilty to cheating the public revenue. Jean was jailed for 30 months after admitting to entering into a money laundering arrangement.Angus MacDonald, prosecuting, said that at the time of the offending, Jean and Sara Barnbrook ran two Girl Guide groups and one Brownies pack in the Crossgates and Manston areas of Leeds.

He told the court: “Sara Barnbrook used the units to commit fraud against HMRC by exploiting the Gift Aid scheme – an income tax relief available to charities registered in the UK. It allows charities to reclaim 25 per cent of any payments made.“Sara Barnbrook submitted fraudulent claims to HMRC, stating the three units had received £1.9 million in charitable donations over an eight-year period.”

The court heard the donors named on the forms “had no knowledge their identities were being used in furtherance of fraud”.

Mr MacDonald said the fraud was so brazen some repayments were claimed after the relevant Girl Guide units had closed down.

The court heard after the repayments were received, the money was withdrawn in cash or transferred to the sisters’ personal accounts.

The fraud was discovered after Jean called her bank in April 2019 chasing a Gift Aid payment she claimed was expected by 1st Manston Guides – a unit which had been closed for 18 months – prompting a criminal investigation by HMRC.

“The prosecution say that call is clear evidence Jean Barnbrook was aware of the fraud being committed by her sister,” Mr MacDonald said.

He told the court that, during the investigation, Sara forwarded a letter to HMRC from someone called “Louise” taking responsibility for the Gift Aid claims.

Investigators found that “Louise” was fictitious and the letter came from Jean Barnbrook’s computer.

Mr MacDonald said: “That letter was a last desperate attempt by these defendants to divert attention away from their offending.”When Sara Barnbrook was arrested she said that “Jean had nothing to do with it”, the court heard.

‘Never been in trouble’

Anastasis Tasou, defending Sara Barnbrook, said she was a woman who “has never been in trouble for anything before” and “is now facing the prospect of an immediate custodial term”.

Glenn Parsons, defending Jean Barnbrook, said she was “absolutely dependent on her sister”, who had “substantially driven” the fraud.

Judge Mushtaq Khokhar told the defendants: “This was a fraud against the public purse and when people such as you commit these offences, they commit those offences out of greed.

“The perception seems to be that it is a victimless crime, but let me tell you, it is not a victimless crime – the victims are not just the state, but every taxpayer who contributes to the Exchequer.”