A woman who stole almost £190,000 while working as a Keswick School finance manager has had her compensation order reduced after the sale of her only assets raised less than expected.
Ghislain Sharron Smithson, now 54, was jailed in 2019 after raiding school reserves while in day-to-day control of its purse strings during a decade of trusted employment between 2012 and 2018.
Smithson created fake companies and bogus invoices to channel cash for her own benefit. She splashed out on expensive holidays and continued to steal despite attending crucial budget meetings at which colleagues battled to cut costs and avoid job losses.
Her illegal activity emerged when she moved jobs and irregularities came to light. It was said to have had a “devastating” impact on the school.
Police financial investigators carried out a painstaking probe of Smithson’s finances as they sought to claw back her ill-gotten gains.
In July, 2020, a court concluded she had benefited from her offending to the tune of just over £208,000. But because the estimated total of her available assets — equity in her family home and two pension policies — was assessed at that time as being £75,889.21, a judge ruled Smithson must surrender that lower sum.
But the eventual house sale and money raised by both pensions being cashed in was less than anticipated. As a result, the available asset amount was reduced administratively — with a judge’s approval — to £62,543.50.
However, an administrative error on paperwork meant the balance of £13,345.71 was still being incorrectly sought from Smithson, previously of Cockermouth and now of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
This was rectified at Carlisle Magistrates’ Court today when district judge John Temperley formally discharged the compensation order. He accepted no more money was presently being sought from Smithson because the full compensation figure of £62,543.50 had been paid out, and received by the school.
