Charity thief took £260k to keep up with friends

A CHARITY thief carried out more than £250,000-worth of scams as he tried to keep up with his wife’s wealthy friends.

- CARL JACKSON Court Reporter

Abdullah Saqlain is already serving prison time for stealing more than £51,000 from the Birmingham-based Jamia Al Furqan organisation.

But confiscation proceedings revealed that was the tip of the iceberg and exposed more elaborate rackets he was embroiled in between 2018 and 2022.

The 47-year-old, from Riverdene Road in Ilford, east London, pleaded guilty to two further counts of fraud and three offences of money laundering.

He was handed a fresh four-year sentence at Birmingham Crown Court, which was told he was trying to ‘keep up with the Joneses!

Saqlain had offered immigration advice to Jamia Al Furqan but stole money in 2018 after gaining access to its accounts.

He admitted two counts of theft and two of money laundering, which saw him jailed for three years last September.

Matthew Brook KC, prosecuting, said: “A POCA (Proceeds of Crime Act) investigation took place.