Church worker facing jail for stealing almost 100,000 when trusted with charity donations

"Francisca Yawson, 37, made a series of bank transfers to herself when she was a gift aid and operations technician for the central London division of the Roman Catholic Church. Southwark crown court heard she made efforts to hide the thefts by cycling money through different accounts that she controlled. She spent most of the stolen cash on herself and her family, with investigators uncovering purchases on beauty products, John Lewis items, and at JD Sports."

"Yawson has pleaded guilty to nine counts of theft, and now faces the possibility of a jail sentence. But the mother-of-three, who is two weeks away from giving birth to her fourth child, turned up to court on Tuesday without a plan for the care of her family, and having told no one about her convictions. Judge Mark Weekes refused to pass sentence, adjourning the case until February next year while telling Yawson: Stop burying your head in the sand."

"The thefts happened between September 2018 and August 2019, starting with a payment to herself of 247 before escalating to siphoning off nearly 20,000 in one go. Prosecutor George Crivelli told the court Yawson has a 2010 conviction for a cheque fraud, when she stole more than 16,000 from her partner's mother. Turning to the new offences, he said the Church did not realise the money was missing for around a year."

Francisca Yawson, 37, stole almost £100,000 from the Diocese of Westminster while employed as a gift aid and operations technician for the central London division. She made a series of bank transfers to herself between September 2018 and August 2019 and attempted to conceal the thefts by cycling funds through accounts she controlled. Investigators found most of the money spent on personal and family items including beauty products and retail purchases. Her offences follow a 2010 cheque-fraud conviction. The Church only noticed the missing funds after about a year, and a police error delayed the investigation for around four years. She pleaded guilty to nine counts of theft; sentencing was adjourned until February.

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