Mum-of-four stole almost £100,000 from church to fund ‘high lifestyle’
A church worker has avoided immediate prison after stealing nearly £100,000 from the Diocese of Westminster which could have supported the homeless and food banks.
Francisca Yawson, 37, made nine bank transfers to herself between September 2018 and August 2019, while working as a gift aid and operations technician at the Roman Catholic Church department in central London.
Southwark Crown Court heard Yawson, who gave birth to her fourth child in October, had previously admitted nine charges of theft. On Friday he was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years.
Judge Mark Weekes said: “As a result, you were grossly and dishonestly financing yourself for a reasonably good standard of living.”
Judge Weekes said the money could be used to help homeless people and families being fed through food banks, adding that it was his “conscience” that children may have gone hungry “while you were helping yourself to a high lifestyle”.
He said there was a “shocking” delay in the case after police mistakenly closed the investigation between 2021 and 2025, which produced a “different outcome”.
The judge said the sentence imposed in 2019 or 2020 for “evil and selfishness” would most likely result in prison.
He told her she was “lucky because of the passage of time” and urged her to reflect on the “real harm you’ve done to people less fortunate than you.”
Nicholas Seed, the diocese’s treasurer, said in a statement read to the court on his behalf that it was “regrettable” that money was being stolen through food banks that could have been used to feed families and help the homeless.
He said: “The harm caused by (Yawson’s) actions therefore reverberates beyond this courtroom into every corner of our community.”
The court heard the thefts totaling £96,000 began with a £247 payment Yawson made to himself and culminated in a single transfer worth almost £20,000.
Prosecutors said he concealed his actions in diocesan records, even though the dates and amounts matched transfers to his personal accounts.
The court heard Yawson, of Stonebridge Park in Brent, north-west London, used the money mostly for “everyday” things.
The defendant said £8,500 of the stolen money was transferred to Jamaica to support his sick grandmother.
Ryan Evans, defending, said Yawson had lost his job and was universally respected.
Mr Evans said Yawson found the stress of having a newborn child “very difficult”.
Judge Weekes ordered him to pay £1,000, carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and undergo 15 hours of rehabilitation.
