Finance worker who stole £91,000 from breast cancer charity to spend on his wedding and honeymoon is jailed
A former finance worker at Breast Cancer Now has been jailed for 30 months after stealing more than £91,000 from the charity to pay for his wedding and honeymoon in Qatar. Tameem Choudhury, 29, from Stoke Newington, abused his position to divert funds intended for The Royal Marsden hospital into his own bank account, betraying the trust placed in him by an organisation reliant on public donations for cancer research and patient support.
Choudhury spent over £49,000 in just two days on luxury items, flights and wedding-related purchases, while also making payments to debt collectors and transferring money to relatives, despite describing himself as "borderline broke" in messages to friends. His account was later frozen by Santander over suspicious activity, with £42,866.25 remaining inside. He admitted fraud by false representation and converting criminal property, with offences spanning August to October 2023. Breast Cancer Now said the stolen funds have since been recovered and the charity suffered no financial loss, while City of London Police said the case shows fraud can occur from within trusted organisations.
- Charity finance worker jailed 30 months for stealing £91,000
- Money funded lavish wedding and honeymoon in Qatar
- Charity says all funds were recovered, no financial loss
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Breast Cancer Now is a UK charity that funds breast cancer research and supports people affected by the disease. The Royal Marsden is a specialist cancer hospital; the charity had intended the money in this case for the hospital.
Finance workers may handle payments and other sensitive financial information, so charities rely on them to use that access properly. Choudhury worked for Breast Cancer Now and diverted money meant for the hospital into his own account.
Charities depend heavily on public donations to fund their work. The case drew attention to how misuse of financial access can affect trust in organisations, even though Breast Cancer Now said the money was recovered and it suffered no financial loss.