A former leader of Derby City Council has been cheated of £42,000 by a friend he entrusted with his finances while he was in jail.
Derby Crown Court heard how Maurice Burgess gave Andrayas Khan full control of his bank accounts when he was jailed for five years in 2011.
Burgess was released, almost halfway through his sentence, to find bank loan letters he knew nothing about in his post.
Further investigation revealed tens of thousands of pounds were missing.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Burgess, who led the council between 2003 and 2005, said he felt “shocked that a friend could do this”.
Andrayas, a former preacher and teacher, has been spared an immediate prison term.
Judge Shaun Smith QC said: “You are 63 years of age and of previous good character not just in the eyes if the law but in the local community.
“Your fall from grace is quite a big one because you undertook positive work with inter-faith and community cohesion.
“But you took advantage of a friend that trusted you while he was serving the custodial element of a five-year sentence.
“You breached his trust and obtained £42,000 from him.
“This was not unsophisticated, you changed details of bank accounts so you could extract money and when he was released from prison he found out loans he knew nothing about had been taken out under his name.
“I accept you did not use the cash to spend on luxury items such as holidays but instead used it to alleviate the financial difficulties you found yourself in.”
Christopher Jeyes, prosecuting, said the offending began after Mr Burgess was handed a five-year-jail term in 2011 for historical sex offences against an underage boy.
He said Mr Burgess entrusted Khan, who he had known for a number of years, with his finances while he served the custodial part of his sentence.
But, over the next three years, Khan stole £42,000 from him.
Mr Jeyes said: “Mr Burgess had known Mr Khan for a long time and believed him to be a respectable and responsible man as he was a preacher in a nearby parish.
“He left him with blank cheques to pay for legal fees but it was discovered that the defendant moved money around between accounts and took out loans in Mr Burgess’ name without him knowing.
“The offending came to light when Mr Burgess was released early from his sentence in June 2014 and he found bank loan letters he knew nothing about in his post when he got home.
“He confronted the defendant about it and he admitted he had taken out loans saying it was to pay for improvements to a property he owned in Bradford.”
Mr Jeyes said Mr Burgess contacted the police and an investigation began.
In a victim personal statement, Mr Burgess said: “Things have been extremely stressful, I have been suffering from depression and I have been going to counselling.
“Having come out of prison I was shocked to find my friend had done this. I now find it difficult to trust people.”
Khan, now of Kenmore Walk, Bradford, pleaded guilty to a number of counts of fraud.
Khan was handed a two-year jail term, suspended for two years.
He was also ordered to carry out 240 hours unpaid work and will be curfewed to his home address each night between 7pm and 7am for the next six months.
