29 July 2022 by Russell Hargrave
A charity worker has received a suspended prison sentence after stealing tens of thousands of pounds from her employer.
Bethan Hopkins, who was a finance manager at Safer Wales, was handed a two-year sentence, suspended for 18 months, at Cardiff Crown Court earlier this week.
The court confirmed that Hopkins, who is 42 and lives in the Llanrumney area of Cardiff, stole £47,531 from the charity, which works with victims of domestic violence, rape and exploitation.
Hopkins was suspended from her job last November over concerns about payments to her personal bank account during an eight-month period, according to local news reports, and later pleaded guilty to fraud charges.
In addition to handing down the suspended sentence, the reports said the judge ordered Hopkins to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation activity requirement.
Safer Wales did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Local reports of the case said the charity had to spend an additional £50,000 to investigate the fraud and was insured for only £25,000.
The charity had an income of £2.2m and spent £2m in its financial year 2020/21, and employed 55 people, according to the most recent filings with the Charity Commission.
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