A Church worker stole almost £100,000 from the Diocese of Westminster after she was trusted to handle charity donations, a court has heard.
Francisca Yawson, 37, made a series of bank transfers to herself when she was a gift aid and operations technician for the central London division of the Roman Catholic Church.
Southwark crown court heard she made efforts to hide the thefts by “cycling” money through different accounts that she controlled.
She spent most of the stolen cash on herself and her family, with investigators uncovering purchases on beauty products, John Lewis items, and at JD Sports.
Yawson has pleaded guilty to nine counts of theft, and now faces the possibility of a jail sentence.
But the mother-of-three, who is two weeks away from giving birth to her fourth child, turned up to court on Tuesday without a plan for the care of her family, and having told no one about her convictions.
Judge Mark Weekes refused to pass sentence, adjourning the case until February next year while telling Yawson: “Stop burying your head in the sand.”
The thefts happened between September 2018 and August 2019, starting with a payment to herself of £247 before escalating to siphoning off nearly £20,000 in one go.
Prosecutor George Crivelli told the court Yawson has a 2010 conviction for a cheque fraud, when she stole more than £16,000 from her partner’s mother.
Turning to the new offences, he said the Church “did not realise the money was missing for around a year”.
The case was then delayed for around four years when a Metropolitan Police mistakenly closed the investigation.
Yawson was arrested, interviewed, and charged earlier this year, and pleaded guilty when she first appeared at the magistrates court.
She says £8,500 of the stolen money was transferred to Jamaica to help pay for medical bills for her grandmother.
“Most of the money taken seems to have been dissipated on expenditure by the defendant”, said Mr Crivelli.
Yawson, who is heavily pregnant and due to give birth on October 29, asked through her lawyer to be sentenced, to “know her fate”.
But the judge put the case back until February 6 next year, to allow Yawson time to give birth, tell family and friends about her convictions, and make arrangements for the children if she had to spend time in prison.
“I’m bewildered”, he said.
“Social services have to become involved. It’s unbelievable she has not thought to take any steps in that regard.
“She can’t assume the court is going to suspend the sentence.”
The court heard Yawson now has a new job and has not told her bosses about the criminal proceedings.
The judge said she “wasn’t very honest” with a probation officer who prepared a report for the sentencing hearing.
And he told her directly: “This case isn’t going anywhere.
“You need to start planning for the future. Please stop burying your head in the sand.”
Yawson, of Stonebridge Park in Brent, northwest London, was set free on bail until her sentencing hearing.
