A church employee who embezzled nearly £100,000 to fund a lavish “high lifestyle” avoided jail and was ordered to pay back a paltry sum of just £1,000.
Francisca Yawson, 38, pilfered the funds from the Diocese of Westminster, which Judge Mark Weekes noted could have been used to support the homeless and food banks.
The mother-of-four pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to nine theft charges totalling £96,331, taken from charitable donations over 11 months between September 2018 and August 2019.
Yawson had worked as a Gift Aid and Operations Technician at the Roman Catholic diocese, which encompasses Westminster Cathedral, since 2013.
Judge Weekes handed Yawson, from Stonebridge Park in north-west London, a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years.
The court heard that Yawson used the stolen funds to purchase presents for her family from John Lewis and sent £8,500 to Jamaica, which she claimed was to cover medical expenses for her grandmother who suffers from leukaemia.
However, Judge Weekes noted that the amount transferred abroad was “dwarfed” by the sum “you spent on yourself”.
“All in all, you were funding yourself to a reasonably good standard of lifestyle – grossly and dishonestly.”
The Diocese of Westminster encompasses Westminster Cathedral
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Judge Weekes emphasised the real-world consequences of Yawson’s crimes, stating that vulnerable people were deprived of charitable support because of her actions.
“Small children, like the ones you look after, went hungry or more hungry while you helped yourself to a high lifestyle,” he told her.
During sentencing, the judge also referenced a previous conviction from 2021, when Yawson defrauded her partner’s mother of £16,000.
“It might be thought that once bitten twice shy, but it would appear not,” Judge Weekes remarked, adding: “It seems that temptation overwhelmed you again for reasons that are not entirely clear.”
The mother-of-four pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to nine theft charges totalling £96,331
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GOOGLENicholas Seed, the Diocese’s chief financial officer, expressed the organisation’s anguish in a victim impact statement read to the court.
He said: “The gift aid money stolen is not an abstract number of a spreadsheet. Her actions reverberated beyond this courtroom into every corner of our community.
“We are deeply saddened by Ms Yawson’s betrayal and the harm it has caused to our charitable mission.”
Ryan Evans, defending, told the court that his client felt genuine remorse and acknowledged her wrongdoing.
He argued that separating Yawson from her three-month-old infant would have a “detrimental impact on both parties”.
The sentencing had been delayed from October after Yawson was about to give birth to her fourth child.
Despite her prior conviction, Judge Weekes concluded that she did not “present a high risk of reoffending or harm”.
Citing “shocking delays” in proceedings that began in 2019, he ordered Yawson to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation activities.
She must also observe a five-month curfew between 7pm and 6am, monitored by an electronic tag.