Revealed - £100k stolen from Madeleine Fund by man close to the search.

[Anna]

The Sun have chosen presumably for legal reasons to not name the person, and therefore will have gone to considerable lengths to obfuscate the person's identity in the article.

But trying to solve it, the key phrase is "travel and hotel receipts".

Therefore (if true) it is a person who has travelled to places.

And has stayed in hotels.

All the PI and their assistants then?

[jassi]

All the PI and their assistants then?

Yes, a Jim Rockford type of person - so much a day plus expenses. Not that I'm suggesting that old Jimbo was dishonest 

[pegasus]

The fact that you find it funny that the Fund to find their missing daughter might have been ripped off and that bad things seem to happen to them speaks volumes.  A fan of schadenfreude, much?

I think it's reasonable to expect people controlling donated money to keep pro-active track of how it is spent. What we have here is two unnamed people who have gone to great lengths to do exactly that, and posters of both sides should be applauding them.

[stephen25000]

Yes.  He cancelled the contract when he became suspicious.

It was too late.

He had already siphoned off a lot of other peoples' money.

[pegasus]

All the PI and their assistants then?

But have there actually been any private investigators active since SY and PJ re-opened the case?

[Anna]

Yes, a Jim Rockford type of person - so much a day plus expenses. Not that I'm suggesting that old Jimbo was dishonest 

Ah! the Rockford files. He has passed away (James Garner) Great stuff though.
Yes, I expect it would be someone like that, if they were close to the search and used hotels.
Not Jimbo though

[Alice Purjorick]

But have there actually been any private investigators active since SY and PJ re-opened the case?

The article is light on dates so it could be from before 2011.
I still think this wording is strange;
"Last night the McCanns’ spokesman said: “Madeleine’s Fund takes extremely seriously any suggestion monies intended for the search have been obtained fraudulently".[/b]

[pegasus]

If the Sun story is true (it probably isn't), this is something that would presumably come to light at some kind of accounting or auditing stage?

[Eleanor]

It was too late.

He had already siphoned off a lot of other peoples' money.

Take it up with America. He made a right fool of them.

[stephen25000]

Take it up with America. He made a right fool of them.

Likewise with the mccanns.

[pegasus]

@Alice IMO "obtained" means "obtained from the fund, by the subcontractor or similar"

[Eleanor]

Likewise with the mccanns.

Nope.  I think you will find it was Brian Kennedy.  The Millionaire Double Glazing Magnet.

[Alice Purjorick]

If the Sun story is true (it probably isn't), this is something that would presumably come to light at some kind of accounting or auditing stage?

If it were bent receipts and invoices from a subcontractor the auditors would not necessarily know. They would not be interested in much more than does the value of invoices = the value of the purchase order and are the schedules of rates (if any) being applied properly.
It could be argued that whoever was PM should have had their finger on the pulse a bit more.
If the story is true of course.

[Alfred R Jones]

I think it's reasonable to expect people controlling donated money to keep pro-active track of how it is spent. What we have here is two unnamed people who have gone to great lengths to do exactly that, and posters of both sides should be applauding them.

Applauding them yes, laughing at the possibility that once again the McCanns' Fund for their daughter has been the target of a fraudster no.

[Angelo222]

The fact that you find it funny that the Fund to find their missing daughter might have been ripped off and that bad things seem to happen to them speaks volumes.  A fan of schadenfreude, much?

Not in the least.  What I do find so funny is how two supposedly intelligent doctors could go so wrong in choosing the right people to represent them.  Let's hope their professional prowess isn't similarly challenged.