Church worker stole £100k, avoids jail

Francisca Yawson, a 37-year-old church worker, has been sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, for stealing nearly £100,000 from the Diocese of Westminster. Between September 2018 and August 2019, Yawson, who was a gift aid and operations technician, made nine unauthorized bank transfers to her personal accounts.

The court heard that the stolen money, amounting to over £96,000, could have been used to support the homeless and food banks. Judge Mark Weekes criticized Yawson's 'grossly and dishonestly' funding of her lifestyle, noting that her actions meant children might have gone hungry. He pointed out that a significant delay in the case, partly due to police closing the investigation prematurely, resulted in a more lenient sentence than would have been imposed earlier.

Yawson, who has four children, used the majority of the funds for everyday expenses, with a portion transferred to Jamaica to support her ill grandmother. She was ordered to pay £1,000, complete 150 hours of unpaid work, and participate in 15 hours of rehabilitation. The diocese's chief financial officer expressed how upsetting it was that community support funds were stolen, stating the harm reverberated widely.