Church worker fined after stealing nearly 100,000 thousand pounds in charity donations

A former employee of the Diocese of Westminster has been sentenced after admitting to stealing almost £100,000 from charitable donations meant to support the Catholic community.

Francisca Yawson, 38, of northwest London, pleaded guilty to nine counts of theft totalling £96,331 at Southwark Crown Court. The mother of four worked as a Gift Aid and Operations Technician for the diocese, which includes Westminster Cathedral.

The thefts occurred between September 2018 and August 2019. Prosecutor evidence showed Yawson used the stolen funds to finance a “high lifestyle,” purchasing gifts for her family from John Lewis and transferring £8,500 to Jamaica, purportedly for her grandmother’s medical bills.

In a victim impact statement, Nicholas Seed, the diocese’s chief financial officer, stated the theft had caused significant harm to their charitable mission. “Her actions reverberated beyond this courtroom into every corner of our community,” Seed said.

Judge Mark Weekes, presiding, noted this was not Yawson’s first fraud offense; she was convicted in 2021 of defrauding her partner’s mother of £16,000. “It might be thought that once bitten twice shy, but it would appear not,” the judge remarked.

While Yawson cited her grandmother’s leukaemia as a motive, Judge Weekes said the money sent to Jamaica was “dwarfed” by the amount spent on herself. He added that because of her actions, “small children… went hungry or more hungry.”

Defence counsel Ryan Evans cited Yawson’s remorse and the detrimental impact imprisoning her would have on her three-month-old child.

Citing “shocking delays” in the case since 2019, Judge Weekes sentenced Yawson to a two-year prison term, suspended for two years. She was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work, 15 days of rehabilitation activity, and pay a £1,000 fine in compensation to the diocese within a year. A five-month electronically monitored curfew was also imposed.