A 26-year-old who raised £1,000 in memory of a baby girl but then made off with the money has been jailed.
Chanel Bailey set up a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds for a memorial after befriending a woman whose prematurely-born baby sadly died.
In total, 28 people donated to the cause but Bailey kept the money for herself.
A court heard she withdrew £935 from the crowdfunding account on 21 January 2020.
A police investigation found it was not the first time she had collected donations under false pretenses.
Three years previously, in 2017, Bailey contacted the mother of a two-year-old girl via Facebook as the toddler battled a brain tumour, which later claimed her life.
Bailey said she wanted to help raise money to send the little girl to Germany for treatment.
A sponsored walk was organised but Bailey failed to hand over cash she’d collected.
She also announced plans to shave her head to raise money for the same cause and again failed to hand over donations.
Bailey, of Martinmass Close, Lenton, appeared at Nottingham Crown Court for sentencing on Monday (23 May 2022), having previously pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation and theft.
She was jailed for two years and three months.
Inspector Christopher Jury, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Chanel Bailey took advantage of her victims’ pain and the charitable spirit of many people, just so she could treat herself on other people’s hard-earned money.
“The deception was cunning and manipulative and I am pleased the courts recognised this.
“There is absolutely no excuse for her actions and she is deserving of the prison sentence she will now have to serve.”
