HSE Audit: Hep C charity boss raised suspicions

The woman who controlled the finances of a charity set up to support women with hepatitis C ultimately raised the suspicions of her peers when she failed to provide satisfactory explanations around missing cheque stubs and delays in obtaining copy cheques from the bank.

Detta (Bernadette) Warnock, sentenced to two years in prison last year after pleading guilty to stealing over €116,000 from Positive Action, was initially held “in high regard” by the executive committee/directors.

However a series of incidents raised their concerns, including when cheque stubs went missing from Positive Action’s Dublin premises. The executive committee/directors told auditors that Ms Warnock initially said they may have been shredded by mistake.