A Scottish mother who previously defrauded elderly care home residents has been jailed for three years after embezzling more than £500,000 from two businesses over four years.
Stephanni Houston, also known as Bryden, stole £253,281 from Kelburne Construction in Kilmarnock between February 2017 and March 2021 while working as an office administrator.
She then embezzled £262,987 from WM Donnelly and Co in East Kilbride between May 2019 and March 2021 in her role as bookkeeper.
The convicted fraudster had previously targeted vulnerable pensioners at an Ayrshire care home, including a 93-year-old blind woman and an 89-year-old frail woman, stealing thousands of pounds from their accounts.
Houston was sentenced to three years in prison in 2023 at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court
Houston's history of fraud dates back to 2014 when she admitted stealing £2,425 from four elderly residents at Berelands Care Home in Prestwick.
The victims included two men aged 83 and 91, alongside the two women.
Working as an administrator, she forged managers' signatures to access residents' money between April and December 2013.
At Ayr Sheriff Court, a sheriff described her actions as "a serious offence against those who are the most vulnerable".
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The care home compensated residents for their losses
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She avoided prison, receiving 240 hours of unpaid work and an order to repay the stolen funds within a year.
The care home compensated residents for their losses.
Houston told the Daily Record at the time: "I feel hellish. I'm so ashamed of the mess I've made. I just want to say how sorry I am to the residents. It was a stupid mistake."
Houston was sentenced to three years in prison in 2023 at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court.
Prosecutors have now secured a confiscation order of £81,589, with the possibility of pursuing additional funds in future
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Prosecutors have now secured a confiscation order of £81,589, with the possibility of pursuing additional funds in future.
Sineidin Corrins, Deputy Procurator Fiscal for Serious Casework at COPFS, said: "This confiscation underscores the fact that prosecution of those involved in financial crime does not stop at criminal conviction and sentencing."
She added: "Even after that conviction was secured, the Crown pursued Proceeds of Crime action to ensure the funds Stephanni Houston obtained illegally were confiscated. Confiscation orders have ongoing financial consequences, meaning we can seek to recover further assets from this individual in the future to reflect the full amount."
Compensation orders totalling £81,589 were awarded to both companies she defrauded.
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