Poppy pin designer sent to jail for stealing charity money

Saturday 03 February 2018

A poppy pin designer who stole islanders’ donations to a charity for ex-servicemen and women has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Dominic Julian Hedley Egré (43), who has a long history of volunteer work including the Boys Brigade and St John Ambulance, and held various ranks within the St. Peter’s Honorary Police, admitted to stealing over £35,000 from the Jersey branch of the Royal British Legion.

The thefts from the charity happened between 2007 and 2009 when Egré designed metal pin badges for the island’s poppy appeal – an idea from his sister, who said she and her firefighter colleagues needed a more robust poppy to wear on their uniforms.

The Royal British Legion branch in Jersey – with whom Egré had a strong relationship due to his family’s involvement with the charity, and as a member of the army cadet force - commissioned Egré to produce 600 metal pins for the 2006 poppy appeal, raising over £4,000 in donations.

Due to the success of the metal pins, the legion commissioned Egré to make thousands more, as well as specialist militia poppy pins, for the 2007 and 2008 poppy appeals. Although Egré offered his work for free, he received thousands of pounds in various payments from the legion to cover production costs of the metal pins.

Pictured: In the Royal Court, the Bailiff referred to the theft as a "very, very sad case."

But in February 2008, the RBLJ General Committee became aware of a website set up by Egré claiming to be associated with the charity. After he refused to take the website down, the legion’s headquarters agreed to keep it open on the understanding that the charity would benefit from the sale of merchandise.

When no money - or record of stock or receipts - was given to the Treasurer during 2008, the Chairman of the Jersey branch started to investigate Egré, who said he had mismanaged the appeal money due to suffering a breakdown from the pressure he had been under.

The investigation showed that Egré had received £25,448.37 from sales of the metal poppy pin, but he had not forwarded that money to the appeal.

With £10,000 still missing from the poppy appeals, Egré was arrested in June 2016 and charged with two counts of theft totalling £35,448.37 to which he pleaded guilty in December 2017.

During sentencing in the Royal Court yesterday, the Prosecution said that Egré had “abused his position of trust.”

Advocate Conrad Yates added: “With his strong links to the armed forces, he is acutely aware of the purpose of the poppy appeal.. He’s deprived ex-servicemen and women and their families and he’s undermined the public confidence in the Legion itself.” The Prosecution called for a prison sentence of two-and-a-half years.

Pictured: Egré has been sentenced to 18-months in prison. 

Defending, Advocate Michael Haines told the Court that his client offered no excuse or justification for his behaviour and acknowledges that he brought shame on the Royal British Legion Jersey branch. He added: “What you have before you is a broken man. He has no job, he has poor mental health and his enormous amount of voluntary work is at an end.”

Advocate Haines asked the Bailiff for an 18-month sentence to ideally be served in community service due to Egré being the primary carer of his father and his two children.

Handing down the sentence, the Bailiff, Sir William Bailhache, said that it was “a very, very sad case.”

He told Egré: “In their thousands, islanders have given money to the poppy appeal recognising that it will be given to ex-servicemen and women and those who have paid the ultimate price. Many islanders have donated when they can’t really afford it but they do so because of the value of it.”

Egré will spend the next 18 months in prison.