Claire Walsh, a 39-year-old former employee of Chelsea Football Club, has been spared jail despite admitting to defrauding the club of over £200,000. Walsh, who worked as an assistant treasury manager, abused her position to illicitly obtain £208,521.65 between June 8, 2019, and October 23, 2023. She was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday to two years' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.
Walsh's role at the Premier League club involved administering manual refunds. The court heard that she exploited the club's season ticket exchange system. This system allowed season ticket holders unable to attend home matches at Stamford Bridge to resell their tickets to other members and season ticket holders. Prosecutor Alex Alawode explained that Walsh created "false refunds for tickets that had not been put onto the exchange site". He further stated that "no tickets existed, she was simply creating a refund as if a ticket did exist on the sheet". Investigations revealed an "unusually high number of manual refunds on credit cards established to be in the name of and belonging to the defendant".
In mitigation, Joy Dykers, representing Walsh, said that "none" of the money was left and "it has all been spent". Dykers added that some of the money went towards "supporting her parents," while a significant portion was spent on "gifts and experiences for her family and friends, trips to the theatre and holidays".
In addition to the suspended sentence, Walsh was also sentenced to up to 25 days of a rehabilitation activity requirement and 200 hours of unpaid work in the community. Chelsea Football Club did not seek costs or compensation.
Her Honour Judge Fiona Barrie, in sentencing Walsh, stated: "This is plainly an abuse of trust". She added, "You held a responsible and trusted position in the finance department and were trusted to handle large sums of money, and you used that position to defraud your employer".
Walsh had pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud by abuse of position at Westminster Magistrates' Court in November. At the time of her guilty plea, the magistrate noted that the scale of the fraud exceeded the court's sentencing powers, leading to the case being sent to Crown Court. At the time, it was noted that Walsh potentially faced a prison sentence of up to 10 years. Chelsea reportedly discovered the fraud in early 2022 and promptly reported the matter to the police.
