Church and scout treasurer from Shifnal jailed for stealing £170,000 he spent on crypto scam

Shrewsbury Crown Court, sitting at Telford Justice Centre, was told how Rodgers siphoned money from the organisations in transactions of up to £20,000 at a time.

He took £126,000 from the church, £16,600 from the Shifnal Scout group and £28,300 from Madeley Scouts - leaving the group with just £21.50 in its account.

Rodgers told police he was the victim of a cryptocurrency scam.

It was said that he took large sums from the organisations so he could access “profits” in a crypto account, but the money disappeared into a “black hole”.

A victim impact statement from Reverend Chris Thorpe, vicar of St Andrew's Church, was read to the court.

In it, he said: “This has impacted me personally with a sense of betrayal. I considered him to be a personal friend - someone I met socially and relied on him in his capacity as treasurer.”

He said he has had to work hard to “manage the impact” of Rodgers’s crimes in the church community, and that the fraud put church employees' jobs at risk due to the loss of funds.

The vicar also said Rodgers’ fraud impacted the church’s work with “the most vulnerable in society”. The church runs a food bank, tea for people with dementia and provides a warm space every day.

Edward Pritchard, lead volunteer for Shropshire Severn and Teme Scouts, which has the Shifnal and Madeley Scout groups in its stable, also provided an impact statement.

“We’ve managed to keep our heads above water, but we’ve not been able to do a lot of the activities we’ve wanted to do,” he said.

He added that the group has had to borrow money, and if the organisation had to fold due to financial problems, 800 children would have been left without a scout group, including some children in “the most deprived areas of the county”.

Rodgers, of Hough Way, Shifnal, pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud. He has no previous convictions.

Danny Smith, mitigating, urged Recorder Julian Taylor not to jail Rodgers.

“This would be a weak argument had he lived a champagne and caviar lifestyle,” Mr Smith said. “But there is certainly no evidence that those monies were used to pay off debts or for luxurious items.

“That money has gone into a black hole. What he has effectively done is gambled other people’s money into the clutches of the criminals of cryptocurrency.

“He is a father to two children, aged 16 and 13. His father is 79 and this offending has had a huge impact on him.

“The prospect of seeing his son go to custody has had a detrimental impact on his health.

“He [Rodgers] has lost everything. He has lost his good name, he’s lost the place where he executed his faith and he will lose his home.”

Recorder Taylor told Rodgers: “This is a gross abuse of trust and responsibility, almost as bad as one can get.

“I appreciate this will have an effect on your two children and your father. People spoke highly of you until this matter. You have lost your good name and that is punishment in itself.

“I’m afraid it must be an immediate custodial sentence. I have a duty to protect people such as the church and the scouts.”

He jailed Rodgers for 32 months. Rodgers is likely to serve around 40 per cent of the time behind bars before being released on licence.

Rodgers is expected to be back in the dock on September 8 for a proceeds of crime hearing, to see if any of his ill-gotten gains can be recouped.