Man to be sentenced after over £20k of poppy appeal donations 'went missing'

The former chairman of Liverpool's branch of the Royal British Legion will be sentenced for fraud after collection tins went missing. Sean Kevan Pullen abused his position as a poppy appeal organiser for the veterans' charity by stealing the collection tins instead of returning them.

The ECHO previously reported that Pullen resigned his position as the local organiser claiming he was busy with other commitments, only for it to be revealed a week later that the tins were missing. The Royal British Legion brought a private prosecution against Pullen, after money reportedly went missing between October 1 and December 31 2018.

Pullen has now pleaded guilty to fraud - six years after the offending period. A source close to the case told the ECHO that Pullen claimed he was medically unfit to stand trial. The source said: "After both the defence and prosecution medical experts found he was fit to stand he has changed his plea to guilty."

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The ECHO reported in November 2022 that Liverpool Magistrates' Court granted an application made on behalf of the Royal British Legion for a warrant to arrest Pullen. After Pullen failed to return the collection tins or offer sufficient explanations of their whereabouts, all attempts by Royal British Legion officials to meet him were rejected on the basis he was unavailable.

The court previously heard when the Royal British Legion visited his former address, Jacksmere Lane in Scarisbrick, his former landlord informed them the property had been left in a state and £10,000 was owed. The landlord also gave the Royal British Legion Pullen's post, some of which was in alias names such as Sean Faversham and Alexander Hamilton Forbes.

The ECHO understands representatives of Pullen, who appeared before court last week, approached the prosecutors and indicated he would plead guilty to fraud by abuse of position. The Royal British Legion accepted the terms and Pullen pleaded guilty to the charge on November 20.

The particulars of the case are: "Between October 1 2018 and December 31 2018, Sean Kevan Pullen, occupying a position in which he was expected to safeguard, or not to act against, the financial interests of The Royal British Legion, namely the poppy appeal organiser for the City of Liverpool, dishonestly abused that position, and intended, by means of the abuse of that position to make a gain for himself / or to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss, by failing to account for donations received from members of the public during the poppy appeal totalling no less than £20,000 and no more than £70,000, in breach of section 4 of the Fraud Act 2006."

Pullen previously appeared in the ECHO when he was new to the role of poppy appeal organiser. Pullen told the ECHO that the organisation was in "serious need of some more volunteers to help us in our collections and distribution of poppies in the city centre".

Following Pullen's guilty plea, a spokesperson for the City of Liverpool Royal British Legion said: "For six tough years we’ve battled long and hard on behalf of our veterans, their families and the incredibly generous people of Liverpool to get justice. Through (their) loyalty, bravery and dedication we have done just that."

The shamed volunteer will appear before Liverpool Crown Court on December 19 for sentencing.