Two leaders of a charity established to support terminally ill and disabled children have been jailed after stealing funds to finance gambling and pay personal expenses.

Ruksana Khan, 68, and James Donovan, 58, both of Westfield Road, Blackpool, embezzled more than £300,000 from Kidz Come First, a charity founded by Khan in 2011, according to Essex Police.

Although the charity did assist some families, Khan and Donovan were discovered to have misappropriated significant amounts of money for their personal use. On June 13, Recorder William Clegg KC sentenced Khan to five years and 11 months in prison and Donovan to three years in prison at Chelmsford Crown Court.

'Absolutely Shocking'

Khan confessed to defrauding the charity in 2021, while Donovan denied three counts of fraud but was convicted at the same court in January this year. Khan established Kidz Come First in 2011 and operated the charity from her former home in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, where she lived with Donovan, a trustee of the organization.

A police investigation began in 2017 following complaints received by the Charity Commission. Bank statements revealed that thousands of pounds were transferred from the charity’s bank account to Khan’s personal account and eventually used on online gambling sites.

Detective Constable Claire March, who led the investigation, stated that detectives are pursuing confiscation orders to recover some of the stolen funds. “To steal £315,000 from a children’s charity, where the money should have been spent on disabled and terminally ill children for equipment, healthcare, and respite holidays, is absolutely shocking,” she said.