A former manager of a Scottish social care charity has been imprisoned for 12 months after admitting to embezzling about £40,000 from the charity’s vulnerable residents.
Violet Connor, 67, of Fife, appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on 27 June and was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment after admitting stealing £40,060 from residents of Sense Scotland, which provides care for vulnerable adults and children with complex needs.
Connor, who was authorised to withdraw money for service users from their bank accounts during her employment due to Sense Scotland holding corporate appointeeship of its care home residents, stole the money between 10 April 2019 and 14 September 2022.
She was charged with embezzling a total of £40,060 by making excessive withdrawals from residents’ bank accounts and falsifying internal records while employed as a manager at the charity.
Connor’s sentence was discounted from 18 months, due to an early guilty plea she made on 4 June.
A spokesperson for Sense Scotland told Third Sector that it remained “committed to repaying all funds” and was confident the fraud was an “isolated incident”.
The spokesperson said the charity became aware of irregularities in the finances of a small number of individuals supported in two of its services in October 2022.
Sense Scotland “immediately undertook a financial audit of the services” and reported its findings to the police and other relevant authorities and regulatory bodies, the spokesperson said.
Connor was dismissed from Sense Scotland in November 2022 after an internal investigation.
The spokesperson said: “Sense Scotland spoke with the families and guardians of the individuals affected and committed to repaying all funds.
“We reviewed our policies, procedures and systems to ensure robust management of the finances of the people we support, and are confident that this was an isolated incident.”
The charity previously told Third Sector that the people it supported “will not be financially disadvantaged as a result of these irregularities” and that all other Sense Scotland finances were in order.
Sense Scotland recorded a total income of £24.9m and spending of nearly £25.5m in the financial year to the end of March 2023, according to its latest accounts filed with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.