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Privacy NoticeHayley Matthews, a former BBC presenter, has been caught in a shocking scandal after admitting to embezzling £120,000 from her mother’s bank accounts. The lavish lifestyle she led was funded by the stolen cash between September 2019 and November 2022. It wasn’t until family members raised questions about the size of Ms Matthews’s estate following her death at an Edinburgh care facility in 2021 that the truth came to light. The 44 year old from Edinburgh pleaded guilty on June 27 at Edinburgh Sheriff Court to one charge of embezzlement. On Thursday 25 July, she received a sentence of two years and three months behind bars at the same court. Lynne Barrie, procurator fiscal for Lothian and Borders, didn’t mince her words, saying: “Hayley Matthews was placed in a position of family trust to oversee her mother’s financial affairs. But she abused that responsibility by stealing thousands of pounds and used that money to brazenly fund an extravagant lifestyle,” reports the Express. Lynne Barrie also made it clear that such exploitation of vulnerable individuals would not go unpunished, stating: “This case demonstrates that those who seek to exploit vulnerable victims for their own personal gain will be held to account for their crimes.”
Former BBC presenter Hayley Matthews has been sentenced for embezzlement
(Image: (Image: BBC))
Edinburgh TV presenter Hayley Matthews stole more than £100,000 from her mother
(Image: No credit Daily Record)
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The trial revealed that Matthews, who had power of attorney over her mother’s finances, had misled her family about the value of her mother’s estate, claiming it was only £36,000. However, suspicions arose, leading her sister to request bank statements which uncovered a pattern of excessive ATM withdrawals coinciding with Janice Matthews’s hospitalisation. Upon further examination by Matthews’ sister, it came to light that nearly £100,000 was unaccounted for, which led to the police being notified. Hayley was arrested on January 5 last year, and during questioning, she justified some of her spending as gifts for hospital staff and purchases for her partner. Hayley Matthews’s reckless spending spree was laid bare in court, revealing a staggering 371 PayPal transactions totalling £42,763, cash machine withdrawals of £38,000, Amazon splurges amounting to £13,649.97, not to mention the luxury buys like a £1,371 Mulberry handbag and £5,544.82 blown at the White Company. Her bank statements also exposed indulgences at high-end stores such as Harvey Nichols, Kurt Geiger, and Molton Brown and treats from Greggs, Deliveroo, Five Guys and Hotel Chocolat. Confronted by her father Alistair in January 2022, Matthews confessed to misusing the funds for personal benefit. In a series of text messages, she admitted: “You’re right, I’ve been shocking at handling mum’s money and paperwork. I’ve spent what I shouldn’t and used money I shouldn’t. I wasn’t in a very good place when looking after her, but I tried my best.” Sign up to OK!’s daily newsletter to get updates sent to your inbox for freeStory SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterMore OnBBC
