Church Employee Stole £100k in Donations to Fund Lavish Lifestyle

A church employee who stole almost £100,000 from the Diocese of Westminster to support what a judge described as a "high lifestyle" has been ordered to pay £1,000 in compensation.

Francisca Yawson, 38, took £96,331 in charitable donations between September 2018 and August 2019. She had worked as a gift aid and operations technician for the Roman Catholic diocese, which includes Westminster Cathedral, since 2013.

The mother of four used some of the stolen money to buy presents from John Lewis and sent £8,500 to Jamaica to help cover her grandmother's medical bills.

Yawson, of north-west London, admitted nine counts of theft at Southwark Crown Court.

In a victim impact statement, the diocese's chief financial officer, Nicholas Seed, said the stolen funds were not "an abstract number on a spreadsheet" but money intended to support the church's charitable mission. He said her actions had caused harm across the community.

Sentencing, Judge Mark Weekes referred to Yawson's previous 2021 conviction for defrauding her partner's mother of £16,000. "It might be thought once bitten, twice shy, but it would appear not," he said, adding that temptation had again "overwhelmed" her.

Yawson said she stole the money to help her grandmother, who suffers from leukaemia. However, the judge said the amount sent abroad was "dwarfed" by what she had spent on herself.

Her sentencing was delayed in October as she was about to give birth to her fourth child.

Judge Weekes said vulnerable people had missed out on charitable support as a result of the thefts. "Small children, like the ones you look after, went hungry or more hungry while you helped yourself to a high lifestyle," he said.

Defence barrister Ryan Evans said Yawson was remorseful and argued that imprisoning her would have a detrimental impact on her three-month-old baby.

The judge concluded she did not present a high risk of reoffending and imposed a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years. Yawson must also complete 15 days of rehabilitation activities, carry out 150 hours of unpaid work, and pay £1,000 in compensation within 12 months.

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