A charity fraudster was today jailed for 39 months in her absence – after she refused to attend court for her sentencing.

Wendy Megson, also known as Wendy Elizabeth, refused to attend court either in person or by video link.

But Deemster Graeme Cook sentenced her as if she was standing in the dock. He said planned changes in England and Wales that would require convicted offenders to attend court to hear their sentences handed down had ‘nothing to do with the Isle of Man’.

Jailing her for a total of 39 months, he described her charity offences as the ‘planned exploitation of the public’.

The 62-year-old, previously of Ballaradcliffe, Andreas, was found guilty in June to 13 charges following a four-day jury trial at the Court of General Gaol Delivery.

She had denied nine counts of benefit fraud, two charges of charity fraud, one count of fraud by false representation and one of obtaining remission of fees by deception.

Megson had represented herself in court but was remanded in custody in the second day of her trial due to her disruptive behaviour and the trial continued in her absence, without her taking the stand.

The jury heard she was the director of horse therapy company Manx Equitherapy Limited (MEL) who falsely held it out to be a not-for-profit charity, and had ‘stolen’ the registration numbers of genuine charities to give it an ‘air of authenticity’.

MEL was a ‘mask or front for her own greed’ to obtain as much financial benefit as possible, said prosecutor James Robinson. Analysis of its bank account showed payments for rent, meals out, flights, an electrical store and nights in hotels.

The company was incorporated in 2012, with the defendant as a director, with the stated aim to use horses to provide therapy to humans.

Megson was overpaid a total of £31,366 in benefits over a period of four years or so by claiming she was too ill to work. In fact she was receiving an income from providing horse riding lessons.

MEL’s bank account had credits made to it totalling £114,000 and was used as the accused’s ‘personal piggy bank’, the jury was told. The money was not being used to care her horses bearing in mind the state of the animals, said prosecutor James Robinson at Friday’s sentencing hearing.

Megson was jailed for 20 weeks in August 2022 after being found guilty in the summary court of neglecting 19 horses and ponies in her care. The animals had been left severely emaciated in what the Manx SPCA described as ‘shocking and appalling conditions’.

Despite never having been registered as a charity, the references on MEL’s website and Facebook page to it being a charity or charitable organisation seeking donations. There were similar claims on the JustGiving and easyfundraising platforms.

MEL used the charity number from a different charity, Abandoned Children of Romania, which was set up in 2006 and later changed its name to Acorn. The accused became its chairman and secretary in 2012.

Her company used the registered number of a second charity, IoM Sailing and Boating Trust, in its application to the Tesco Bags of Help scheme.

MEL used its claimed charity status to obtain relief on fees totalling £2,660 which would otherwise have been due when it filed its accounts.

Deemster Cook jailed Megson for 21 months fort the first count of charity fraud and for 18 months to run consecutively for count five, the first of the benefit fraud charges.

Concurrent sentences were handed out for the remaining counts.

She will serve half of that time in custody and then be released on licence.