A British charity manager was sentenced to jail yesterday for two years and nine months after stealing nearly $300,000 from the nonprofit group Dorset Scope, which aids people with cerebral palsy, reports The Telegraph.

John Cunningham started cashing checks and creating false invoices six months after he was hired as a finance manager in October 2003. While at first he extracted only small amounts, Mr. Cunningham quickly began to steal up to $8,000 a month.

Paul Barnard, the chief executive of Dorset Scope, called the shock of the revelations “almost too great to bear.”

Mr. Cunningham admitted his crimes to police in January 2007 and admitted the thefts in court last month.