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Co Armagh man who stole from children of soldier killed in action jailed

The 45-year-old stole more than £250,000 from three victims

Craigavon Court

A Co Armagh man who stole more than £250,000 from three victims, including a trust fund set up for the children of a dead soldier, has been sentenced to two years behind bars.

David Flannigan, 45, from Lurgan Road, Portadown, confessed to three counts of defrauding the three victims and will spend a further two years on licence following his release from prison.

Craigavon Crown Court heard how he abused the positions of trust he held with the R N Moore Will Trust, Portadown Masonic Recreation Club and Orchard County Travel, to swindle away the huge amounts of money.

Those included £161,370 from the R N Moore Will Trust, £66,800 from his local Masonic club and £23,508 from Orchard County Travel over a four-year period from January 1, 2010 to May 20, 2014.

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The Trust fund for soldier Raymond Moore’s, who was killed in the Middle East in 2007, was set up for his two children to receive on their 21st birthdays.

However, in 2012, when his daughter was approaching her 21st birthday, she contacted Flannigan about the trust fund but only received £10,000.

The judge said “it would be difficult to imagine a more serious breach of trust”.

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