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

Desmond Rodgers, aged 51, took tens of thousands from St Andrew's Church in Shifnal as well as Scout groups in Shifnal and Madeley, before being conned out of it himself.
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.”