A MID Devon garage owner, who has been told by an Exeter judge that he faces a lengthy jail sentence after admitting a £300,000 Help for Heroes fraud, has set up a website claiming his intentions were to raise "millions" for the charity.
Christopher Copeland, 51, from Copplestone, near Crediton, organised charity collections all over Britain using teams of volunteers from Devon and targeted shoppers at large supermarkets.
He told his helpers he was passing on the money to the Help for Heroes charity but put it straight into his own bank account.
He was caught when one of the volunteers became suspicious and tipped off Devon and Cornwall Police, who discovered that almost nothing had been paid to the charity.
Copeland admitted fraud and concealing criminal property. Both charges relate to a period between February 1, 2010 to August 17, 2011.
The charges specify he made £300,000 by representing to members of the public that money they donated would be passed on to the Help for Heroes charity.
He transported his teams in a military style 4x4 vehicle which displaying Help for Heroes posters.
Detectives believe he used much of the cash to build up his 4x4 dealership in Mid Devon.
He is due to return to Exeter Crown Court on Monday, September 15, when he faces sentencing.
But he has created a website claiming to explain the "truth" behind his actions.
On the website he described himself as a former member of the RAF and Land Rovers Defenders enthusiast.
He wrote: "I am not a thief, had I been inclined to steal money from Help for Heroes it would have been easy, the donations are cash, untraceable cash, if I wanted to steal from them that would have been the time to do it and no one would have known, I didn't, I paid the money in the bank, put it through my accounts, paid tax on it, if I wanted to steal why would I do this?"
He explained that in 2009 he was earning his living from people having their photos taken in a military helicopter he had restored and displayed.
He said on learning about the work of Help for Heroes he "loved everything they stood for".
He said he initially hosted a helicopter display for the charity, as he had done on several occasions for the Poppy Appeal in Exeter.
And from that event, he said he had the original idea to acquire a fleet of military vehicles and exhibit them to generate "millions over the years" for the charity.
He admitted that he "should have" gone to the charity first.
He said his plan was to raise enough money with the helicopter to buy the Land Rovers and then to cover the repair work on them.
Copeland said that if the trucks could raise millions over the years for the charity then spending a few thousand initially could be justified.
But he admitted that he did not give enough consideration to the charity's "opinion".
"This is mainly where I went wrong," he wrote. "I truly believed the ends justified the means, that I was doing something for the greater good.
"I look back on it now and cringe not believing I could be so stupid, at the time it all seemed so right."
He explained that he decided to hire a crew of employees, advertising for the positions via the Job Centre, instead of volunteers to ensure reliability at events, initially paying them £40 a day plus food.
He then claims some of the employees would "demand" far more wages. And he also heavily criticises the handling of the situation by detectives.
He said: "I pleaded guilty because despite raising £300,000 I only managed to pay Help for Heroes £40,000, the majority of the rest being spent on buying and running the displays and wages for the crews manning the displays. The view of the CPS is simple, "you raised £300,000 claiming it was for Help for Heroes and didn't pay that amount across to them. It's that black and white to them.
"I should have pulled the plug almost 12 months earlier but for my arrogant belief that I was doing the right thing, every week I thought things would get better, I should have been stronger with the staff and not given in to their demands for large pay packets.
"I was so desperate to help, I wanted to be the heroes' hero and I did lose sight of what was right and wrong.
"I swear on my soul that I tried to make this work but got it very wrong and to my wife and my daughter who have suffered so much over the last three years
"I will do all that is humanly possible to make this right."
