Woman who embezzled £360,000 from British Red Cross given confiscation order

By Lucinda Cameron29th March 2019News ScotlandCharities, Courts / Justice, News Scotland, Renfrewshire

A woman who embezzled a six-figure sum from a charity has been ordered to pay back more than £175,000 in ill-gotten gains.

Mary Booth, 58, pled guilty in July 2017 to embezzling £359,551 from the British Red Cross and was later handed a jail sentence of two years and three months.

The former payroll manager has now been made the subject of a confiscation order at Paisley Sheriff Court, prosecutors revealed after the hearing.

Under its terms, Booth has been told to pay back £176,366 – the sum she currently has available – from the proceeds of her criminal actions.

The Crown Office also has the power to seize money and assets she may acquire in the future.

Procurator Fiscal for specialist casework, Jennifer Harrower, said: “This should serve as a warning to anyone involved in financial crime of any kind that we will not stop at prosecution.

“Even after a conviction is secured, we will continue to use the proceeds of crime legislation to ensure that funds obtained through embezzlement are confiscated from those who do not deserve them.

“The £176,366.16 recovered from Mary Booth will be paid in compensation to the British Red Cross.”