The former Army Major fleeced the charity out of more than £400,000 over his ten years at the helm to fund a ‘luxurious’ lifestyle.
He bought a new home, sports cars including a Porsche, 19 guns and went on five-star holidays to Florida every year worth up £10,000 a time.
The sentence was one year longer than what was asked for by the Crown.
The Royal Court’s Superior Number, which convenes only for the most serious cases, heard that Coleman committed the offences to ‘maintain a status and lifestyle’ he could not afford.
It was heard he doctored minutes of meetings to give himself pay rises and huge bonuses – including one of £17,000. His offending also led to bonuses and pay rises being awarded to other innocent members of staff. The Crown say the purpose of this may have been ‘to hide the magnitude of his own pay rises’.
In total Coleman’s salary increased from £47,500 when he joined in 2006 to more than £111,000 by 2016. He benefitted personally, the court heard, to the tune of more than £338,000.
Such was the impact of the former St Lawrence Centenier’s offending, the charity – one of Jersey’s oldest – nearly went bankrupt.
The court made a confiscation order of more than £228,210 – to be used to compensate the JSPCA. His home is to be sold.
In a statement, the States police said: ‘Throughout the investigation, his arrogance and lack of empathy have been remarkable.
‘The widely reported impact upon the charity, and its treasured status with Islanders, appears to have been of little consequence to him. He has only ever thought of himself.’
