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Naomi Campbell has alleged she was the victim of fraud as she launched an appeal against a five-year charity ban.
The 54-year-old was banned from being a charity trustee after a watchdog investigation found evidence of financial misconduct at a charity she founded.
A Charity Commission inquiry found there was “serious mismanagement” at Fashion For Relief, an organisation that held star-studded events to raise money for poverty relief.
Tens of thousands of pounds were spent on luxury hotel rooms, spa treatments, cigarettes and personal security for the supermodel. Two of her fellow trustees, Bianka Hellmich and Veronica Chou, were also banned, with unauthorised payments totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds being paid to Hellmich.
Now, Campbell has claimed that she was the victim of fraud, and that a fake email address had been used to impersonate her.
Her case will come before a tribunal on Friday (7 February), with the model saying she wants to “ensure that those responsible are held accountable and justice is done”.
Representatives for the model claim that documents submitted to the commission contain false information, and filed evidence of a fake email account which they said was used to impersonate Campbell in communications with lawyers.
They allege that the email account was run without the supermodel’s authority and knowledge. Campbell’s team claims she was therefore unaware of the nature of the inquiry and ongoing investigation.
She added: “Having begun legal action, I will have more to say in due course. This is just the beginning. As I have said before, I have never undertaken philanthropic work for personal gain, nor will I ever do so.”
The investigation last year found that between April 2016 and July 2022, only a tiny proportion (8.5 per cent) of the charity’s overall expenditure was on charitable grants.
The Commission has since recovered over £344,000 and protected a further £98,000 of charitable funds. The recovered funds have been donated to the Save the Children Fund and the Mayor’s Fund for London.
