Former Young Australian of the Year finalist and Street Swags charity founder Jean Madden has been charged with fraud.
The 36-year-old will face court today charged with one count of dishonestly causing detriment.
It is alleged she racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in unauthorised expenses. She released a video a few days ago, defending the claims. “To have misappropriated $441,000, which is what I’m accused of, is physically impossible, because it’s more than the total expenditure for the entire organisation,” she said.
The non-for-profit charity provides “basic shelter to people experiencing homelessness,” according to its Facebook page.
She founded the charity in 2010 and designed canvas bags that converts to bedding.
Madden was reportedly sacked from the charity earlier this year after it was alleged that she took over the website and emails, claiming the charity was closed.
The Street Swags website does indeed say it is currently closed, with a statement saying: “Street Swags is closed for business until the management issues can be resolved and a full audit of the company finances can be undertaken.”
The Facebook page, however, says that the organisation is still running.
