Guilty, the kirk elder who stole £70,000 of her church’s funds
Disabled OAP warned she is facing jail over theft
AN elderly Kirk treasurer faces jail after she stole £70,000 from her church – including cash from the collection plate.
Janet Farquhar, 70, paid the church funds into her own bank account over an eight-year period.
The pensioner took £72,155 from Chalmers Memorial Church in Port Seton, East Lothian.
The pensioner even banked more than £12,000 of church collection cash and tried to cover her tracks during a Church of Scotland investigation by forging bank statements.
Farquhar pleaded guilty to embezzlement at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday. A sheriff said the offence, committed between January 2008 and July 2016, was ‘a gross breach of trust’ and warned her she runs a ‘substantial risk of a custodial sentence’.
The court heard Farquhar, who was appointed treasurer of the church in March 1999, began stealing cash in 2008.
Over eight years she paid cheques totalling £59,752 into her own Royal Bank of Scotland account and took the remaining £12,403 from collections given by church members.
Farquhar, from Cockenzie, East Lothian, was unable to take her place in the dock due to her disabilities and pleaded guilty from the public gallery.
Rachel Aedy, prosecuting, told the court the Church of Scotland finance committee assessed its income and ministry payments in 2015 but found Chalmers Memorial Church was behind and ‘a significant amount was due’.
She said Farquhar only told officials the church’s bank was investigating after ignoring repeated requests for clarification on the missing funds.
Farquhar eventually sent forged bank statements in an attempt to end the probe.
The fiscal told the court: ‘A church elder, who also works for Royal Bank of Scotland, was asked to assist to see where the missing money was going.
‘Upon receiving the bank statements the elder noticed issues regarding the bank statements which appeared to have been altered. She compared the bank statements against the bank’s computer records and noticed the statements provided by the accused proposing to be from 2016 were actually from 2013 – the year had been altered to say 2016.’
Church officials then demanded all the financial paperwork concerning Chalmers Memorial Church from Farquhar and it became apparent she had been paying in cheques to her own bank account.
An internal church investigation was held and Farquhar was told she ‘should resign or be removed from her position’ before police were called in.
The court was told 76 cheques totalling £59,752.34 were found to have been cashed into Farquhar’s bank account.
The fiscal added: ‘In relation to the remaining £12,403, the money the accused failed to bank was collection money. The Crown understands the accused has repaid the sum of £15,000.’
Defence solicitor Colm Dempsey said: ‘Steps are being taken to ensure all sums are repaid.’
Sheriff Peter Braid told Farquhar: ‘You face a very substantial risk of a custodial sentence.’
Sentence was deferred for reports.
‘Appeared to have been altered’