A church employee who stole almost £100,000 in charitable donations from the Diocese of Westminster to fund a lavish lifestyle has been spared an immediate prison sentence and ordered to pay just £1,000 in compensation.
Francisca Yawson, 38, admitted stealing £96,331 in Gift Aid donations over an 11-month period while working as a Gift Aid and Operations Technician for the Roman Catholic diocese, which includes Westminster Cathedral. The thefts took place between September 2018 and August 2019, during a period in which Yawson had direct access to funds intended for charitable causes.
Southwark Crown Court heard that Yawson used the stolen money to buy gifts for her family from high-street retailers including John Lewis and to support what the judge described as a “high lifestyle”. She also transferred £8,500 to Jamaica, claiming it was to help pay medical bills for her grandmother, who suffers from leukaemia.
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The court was told, however, that the amount sent abroad was minimal compared with the sums Yawson spent on herself. Sentencing her, Judge Mark Weekes said her explanation did not withstand scrutiny and highlighted that the stolen funds were meant to support people in genuine need.
In a victim impact statement, Nicholas Seed, the Diocese of Westminster’s chief financial officer, described the offence as a profound betrayal of trust. He said the stolen Gift Aid money was not merely an accounting figure but funds that would have supported communities and individuals relying on the church’s charitable mission. He added that the diocese was deeply saddened by the harm caused.
Judge Weekes also drew attention to Yawson’s previous conviction in 2021 for defrauding her partner’s mother of £16,000, questioning why she had reoffended despite that earlier punishment. “It might be thought that once bitten, twice shy,” he said. “But it would appear not.”
The judge said Yawson’s actions had real human consequences, noting that charitable donations she diverted would have helped vulnerable families. He told the court that children had gone hungry, or been made more hungry, while she used the money for personal benefit.
Sentencing had been delayed after Yawson gave birth to her fourth child in October. Her defence barrister, Ryan Evans, said she was remorseful and accepted full responsibility, warning that immediate custody would have a detrimental effect on both Yawson and her infant child.
Despite the seriousness of the offences, Judge Weekes said Yawson did not present a high risk of reoffending and criticised what he described as “shocking delays” in bringing the case to court after it began in 2019.
Yawson was handed a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years, along with unpaid work, rehabilitation requirements, a five-month electronically monitored curfew and an order to pay £1,000 in compensation to the diocese within 12 months.
The case has prompted renewed scrutiny of sentencing outcomes in charity fraud cases, particularly where large sums are taken and public trust is undermined.
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