A finance manager who made £54,000 by stealing from the charity she worked for ordered to pay back just £15,000. She carried out the thefts in order to fund a gambling addiction.
Bethan Hopkins, 43, was working for charity Safer Wales, which supports victims of domestic abuse, rape, and hate crimes. She had access to bank accounts and took several thousand pounds over eight months.
The defendant continued to spend money in an attempt to win money back which she had lost through gambling despite her employers discovering discrepancies with the finances and suspending her from work. The mother-of-one was later arrested and admitted the offences in her police interview.
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A subsequent sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard Hopkins had been working for Safer Wales – which receives funding from government grants, local councils, and police and crime commissioners – for 20 years. In October 2020 finance officer Sally Woodley spoke to the defendant about changes to her sick pay but it was noticed she had received a salary advance for £600.
Ms Woodley spoke to the defendant's line manager who confirmed a salary advance had not been authorised. In November 2020 unusual activity was noticed in Hopkins' bank account where money had been paid in from a Safer Wales account. She was suspended from her job on November 5.
But Hopkins' access to the Safer Wales bank account could not be stopped and she continued to transfer money between the accounts to the value of £6,000 in total. Further investigations revealed transactions were being made using the charity account in the name of N Pearson. The defendant claimed this was a volunteer of the charity but it later transpired it was Hopkins using a fictitious name. Transactions had also been made to gambling websites and Amazon.
Disciplinary hearings were held in Hopkins' absence when she declined to attend on mental health grounds. She answered some questions by email and made slight admissions. She said she had been suffering with her mental health for two years, had been overwhelmed in work, suffered the breakdown of a toxic and controlling relationship, had made two attempts on her own life, and had struggled with the Covid lockdown. She was formally dismissed in February 2021.
Hopkins, of Kewstoke Avenue, Llanrumney, Cardiff, later pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position and the court heard she was of previous good character. In a business personal statement director of services standards Karen Maxwell said Safer Wales had to spend an additional £50,000 in order to investigate the fraud. She said there had been a "significant financial and emotional impact" on the business as Hopkins had been a "key and trusted member of staff". She said the charity had received £25,000 in insurance.
Hopkins was sentenced to two years imprisonment suspended for 18 months. She was ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work and complete a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing held at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday heard Hopkins benefited to the tune of £54,890 as a result of the thefts but her available assets came to just £15,286. Judge Nicola Saffman ordered the defendant to pay that sum within three months or serve 18 months imprisonment in default.
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