Leaders of an international voluntary organisation have spoken of their devastation at discovering their treasurer bled the funds dry.

John Howard, 66, blew nearly £90,000 on slap-up meals, flowers and trips to France by siphoning cash from the Overseas Press and Media Association (OPMA).

Mouthing “I’m sorry” to former colleagues, Howard was this week led from court to begin a two-and-a-half-year jail sentence.

Howard, from Waltham near Canterbury, treated the OPMA’s funds as his own with sole access to the group’s bank account, a court heard.

Over a two-year period he systematically reduced the organisation’s funds from more than £80,000 to just £180 – leaving it facing bankruptcy.

His lavish expenditure included bills totalling £10,000 in a single restaurant, where, dining alone, he would enjoy several £300 meals each month.

We’ve been trying to work out what went wrong. If I ever spoke to him again, I’d just want to know why he did it” - Matt Findel-Hawkins, former OPMA president

Members have come forward to describe the horror of learning a trusted friend had been deceiving them for years.

Matt Findel-Hawkins, a former OPMA president, said: “It wasn’t like he was paying off debts to some evil Shylock figure. This was blatant, categorical deceit over time.

“At the same time he would sit there in meetings, smiling at us.”

Mr Findel-Hawkins, sales director for Nikkei Europe, said Howard had been a member of the non-profit organisation for 30 years.

“We’d have meetings and all go to lunch,” said Mr Findel-Hawkins.

“He was a steady guy with a nice sense of humour.

“That’s why he was our treasurer. We’ve been trying to work out what went wrong. If I ever spoke to him again, I’d just want to know why he did it.”

Prosecutor Tony Prosser told Canterbury Crown Court how father-of-three Howard had secretly sacked auditors and then presented the association with fake accounts each month.

Between 2011 to 2013, Howard had freely dipped into the association’s bank account, lavishing cash on himself and his family.

“The fraud came to light in 2013, when the association had difficulties in paying its creditors and Howard began dodging emails and phone calls,” Mr Prosser told the court.

“The association thought there should have been £80,000 in its savings account – in fact there was just £180.”

Howard eventually rang a fellow member from a pay phone admitting the fraud, offering to repay £20,000.

“It seems to me the money was used to fund a comfortable living for you and your family rather than out of real desperation” - Judge Simon James

In November, Howard was arrested at his home in Richdore Road and gave police a prepared statement claiming he had done nothing wrong.

He wrote: “I have used the debit card only for legitimate purposes, including purchases on behalf of the organisation as well as out-of-pocket expenses for members.

Mr Prosser said that when the accounts were examined, Howard had actually blown thousands on meals, groceries, flowers, expenditure in France, hotels and even sending money to his wife.

Howard, who admitted fraud by breach of trust, claimed he only took £67,000 and had now put his home up for sale hoping to raise money to repay the organisation.

Dominic Webber, defending, said Howard got into debt and used the money to pay bills and “is extremely sorry for what he has done”.

Judge Simon James jailed him for two-and-a-half years telling him: “Your victim was a not-for-profit organisation which had been operating for 80 years or more.

“Under your three-year tenure as treasurer – in which you seemed to treat its bank account as your own – they were left close to bankruptcy and perilously close to folding.

“Your good name has now been well and truly lost. This was a systematic, prolonged and flagrant piece of dishonesty.

“It seems to me the money was used to fund a comfortable living for you and your family rather than out of real desperation.”

Speaking after sentencing, Detective Constable Barry Carr, investigating officer, said: “This was a serious abuse of position and John Howard displayed a flagrant disregard for the trust and responsibility placed in him, nearly bringing a long-established organisation to its knees financially.

“I would like to thank OPMA for their hard work in identifying the transactions which ultimately led to a guilty plea.”

The OPMA is a non-profit trade association servicing the international advertising community, run voluntarily by its members.

Additional reporting by Paul Hooper

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