A Fife charity boss who stole £40,000 from vulnerable residents – including blind, deaf and severely disabled people – has been jailed.
Violet Connor, 67, made excessive cash withdrawals from the personal bank accounts of service users at Sense Scotland and falsified the books over a period of more than three years.
She swindled the money from 10 residents at two of the charity’s facilities and later told bosses she had merely “dwindled” the money away.
Connor, of Lady Alice Path, Glenrothes, appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court for sentencing after earlier pleading guilty to embezzling £40,060 from residents between April 10 2019 and September 14 2022.
Sheriff Charles Lugton jailed her for one year and told her: “The individuals from whom you took are highly vulnerable.
“Your actions involved abusing the position of trust you held (manager) and took place over an extended period of several years”.
The sentence sparked some applause in the public gallery in court and Connor held back tears as she was led out of the dock.
‘Heartbreaking’
Following the hearing, a sibling of one of the victims welcomed Connor’s punishment.
She told The Courier that Connor stole thousands of pounds from her sister, who is blind, deaf and severely disabled.
“She knew what she was doing and is only contrite because she got caught,” the woman said.
“She had personal intimate care with my sister for a long time, for about 10 years.
“She was part of her life for a long time.
“When I first heard about it (the embezzlement), I did not know it was her. I was just told ‘somebody.’ We were upset and angry.
“When we found out it was Violet Connor we were absolutely devastated.”
She added: “We thought it was someone in finance (department) and to be told it was someone we knew personally and someone we had spoken with, it was a total breach of trust and a betrayal of trust. It was heartbreaking and devastating, and I cried”.
The sister said that Sense Scotland had been left out of pocket, after having to refund the embezzled money.
Charity statement
The charity issued a statement following sentencing.
“We became aware of financial irregularities in the finances of a small number of individuals supported in two of our services in October 2022,” a spokesman said.
“We immediately undertook a financial audit of the services and reported our findings to the police and other relevant authorities and regulatory bodies, working closely with these bodies to assist with their inquiries.”
He added: “Following an internal investigation, the staff member responsible for these irregularities was dismissed by Sense Scotland in November 2022.
“Shortly after this, Sense Scotland spoke with families and guardians of the individuals affected and committed to repaying all funds.”
He said the charity was confident this was an “isolated incident”.
Discrepancy noticed by colleague
Prosecutor Christine Allan told the court previously that the charity holds “corporate appointeeship” for each of the vulnerable people affected by the case.
It means the organisation has access to their bank accounts, which staff are authorised to manage through the Department of Work and Pensions.
Connor was authorised to attend the bank, withdraw cash for the service user and then return to the facility and lodge the money in a manual paper ledger system.
Connor had been on compassionate leave when she was rumbled in late October 2022, having suffered a bereavement.
She was due to retire two months later.
A discrepancy was noticed while her prospective replacement was being shown the process of balancing finance folders for service users.
The finance director was informed and instigated an internal enquiry, which uncovered the extent of the embezzlement.
The fiscal depute said: “This affected most of the residents at the facility, with more money being withdrawn from their accounts than was credited to their ledgers.”
Admitted crime was ‘unforgivable’
Ms Allan said Sense Scotland staff personally delivered a letter to Connor at her home requesting she attend the main office on November 3 2022 and the incident was reported to police.
Connor emailed her line manager that day to say she could not make the meeting and what she had done was “unforgivable”.
She then wrote: “I don’t know why I done this, and I did not realise how much I have taken from people we support.
“I have abused my position for which I am deeply sorry.
“I know the police will visit me.
“I have brought shame to myself and my family.
“I can’t face anyone after what I have done.”
She wrote she was not doing well after her husband’s funeral the previous day and reiterated she was ashamed of herself.
Connor offered her resignation but was called to another meeting on November 9, where she was presented with evidence in relation to the missing money going back three years.
The fiscal depute said: “During this time, the accused admitted stealing from the residents.
“At the termination of the meeting, the accused was informed she was being dismissed for gross misconduct.”
Matters went from ‘worse to worse’
The following day, the finance director contacted Connor by phone to ask what she had done with the stolen money.
The fiscal said: “She (Connor) merely replied she had ‘dwindled’ it away and it had never been deposited into any other bank accounts.”
The court heard none of the people who suffered loss were able to give statements due to having various learning difficulties and they are unaware of the incident.
In court this week, defence lawyer Iain McCafferty said Connor initially started taking the money with the hope and expectation it could be paid back, adding: “That did not happen and matters seem to have gone from worse to worse”.
He said Connor knows she let down her work colleagues and knows she committed a “fairly horrendous crime”.
Mr McCafferty said her remorse comes through in her social work report.
The lawyer argued for a non-custodial sentence and highlighted her age, that she is a first offender, the circumstances of losing her husband, and that she is deemed by the report author to be a low risk of reoffending.
In sentencing, Sheriff Lugton said he took account of the mitigating factors and recognised she had problems in her personal life at the time including ill health with relatives and family finances.
But he said the embezzlement of such substantial sums of money, the high vulnerability of those she took from, and the breaching of a position of trust over several years, meant he had to impose a custodial sentence.
The sentence of one year was reduced from 18 months to reflect her early guilty plea.
A confiscation hearing has been scheduled for July 23.
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