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	Church Fraudster Told to Sell off Stamp Collection on Web to Pay Back Victims By Aidan Mcgurran Mirror April 19, 2008 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2008/04/19/church-fraudster-told-to-sell-off-stamp-collection-on-web-to-pay-back-victims-89520-20387397/ A church treasurer who stole 70,000 to fund his stamp collection has been told to sell the hoard on eBay to repay his victims. Prosecutors wanted to sell Derek Klein's albums, which feature 100,000 first day covers, at a conventional auction. But Klein, 53, claimed he could make four times as much - up to 100,000 - by selling individual lots on eBay. Judge Peter Jacobs agreed the deal at a hearing at Norwich crown court to confiscate the fraudster's assets, found to be the proceeds of crime. However he warned that Klein, one of the UK's top five dealers of his kind, would be jailed if he tried to hide the proceeds or if he failed to raise enough cash. Ordering the sales to be be closely monitored by police and solicitors the judge, known for his no-nonsense rulings, said: "This man will be a fool if he tries to cream off any of this money. "I'm sure Mr Klein will have been told of my reputation. He'll spend a lot more time behind bars if he tries to rip us off." Klein was jailed for 16 months in September after admitting plundering St Peter's Church in Ridlington, Norfolk, and nearby St Andrew's Church, in Bacton, to fund his addiction for gambling and stamp collecting. He has already repaid 15,000. The churches will get the first 55,000 he makes from eBay so they are repaid in full. Klein, of Ridlington, will then be allowed to keep any extra cash. The dealer, who is now free, will be given five months to prove he can sell the stamps, and more time if he is successful. But if he does not raise enough money, the stamps will be seized. The collection, currently held by police, weighs about three tonnes and is big enough to fill a family garage. It includes stamps marking the silver jubilee of George V, the silver wedding of George VI and England's 1966 victory over Germany in the World Cup. Klein was treasurer of the two parochial church councils. He pocketed the proceeds of fetes, gifts and grants by taking cash from the church bank accounts. Then he "frittered it away" on his twin obsessions. The self-employed accountant hid his dishonesty with a complicated web of lies. He was caught after the Rev Richard Hines, the former priest in charge of the churches, became suspicious about missing cash. Klein admitted stealing 57,000 from St Andrew's between 1984 and January 2007 and 13,000 from St Peter's over 14 years from 1993. A Ridlington villager, who asked not to be named, said: "He was basically an idiot who thought he could make a fortune from stamps and gambling. He lived in a fantasy world."
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