Balham aristocrat spared jail over £200K charity theft

5:10pm Friday 27th November 2009

By Eleanor Harding

A Balham aristocrat who stole more than £230,000 from a family charity escaped jail on Thursday at Southwark Crown Court.

Jonathan Davies, 65, of Ramsden Road, was given a two year suspended prison sentence after admitting stealing from the Dinam Charity, which was set up to help good causes around the world.

The court how Davies channelled £79,000 of the money to his inventor friend, Joe Dawson, who was attempting to develop a new type of spark plug.

Sentencing him, Judge James Wadsworth said: “It was an extraordinary exhibition of arrogance on your part that you decided to deliberately override the wishes of the trustees.”

He added: "You knew at all times you were handling the funds in direct contradiction of their wishes. What you did with the balance of the money I find even more extraordinary."

Davies, who was educated at Eton and Oxford, admitted 1o counts of theft committed between July 1999 and June 2000, while he was charity secretary.

A police statement issued after the case said some of the money was used to fund private school fees as well as membership for golf clubs and expensive wine clubs.

The court heard how the Dinam Charity was set up in 1926 by Davies's philanthropist grandfather Lord Davies, the first Baron of Llandinam in Wales.

Davies, who was a banker, has been financially ruined since the crimes took place and now lives in a “humble” way, according to his lawyer, David Huw Williams QC.

Judge Wadsworth took into account his guilty pleas, poor health and previous good character and sentenced him to a two-year sentence suspended for two years.

He said: “It’s the tragedy of this case that you were not sufficiently guided by you own honesty and decency.”

Speaking outside of court, Detective Sergeant Richard Ward, of the Economic and Specialist Crime Command, condemned Davies’ “greed”.

He said: "Jonathan Davies gave no regard to how his actions were so against the ethos of the charity.

"Instead he squandered the money on high-class wine clubs, private school fees, golf club membership, paying off bills and credit cards and buying gifts for family members.”