Woman jailed for defrauding firms out of £500,000 ordered to repay £80,000
A woman jailed for defrauding two construction companies out of more than £500,000 has been ordered to pay back more than £80,000.
Stephanni Houston from Ayr was sentenced to 38 months in prison in November 2023 for embezzling over £516,000 from two construction companies over four years.
At Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on May 28, the court made a confiscation order in the sum of £81,589.86 and recorded that the benefit of criminal conduct was £516,268.98.
The 41-year-old, also known as Stephanni Bryden, was convicted at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court after she admitted embezzling £253,281.30 while working as an office administrator at Kelburn Construction in Kilmarnock from February 2017 to January 2019.
Months later, she started embezzling £262,987.68 while working as a bookkeeper for WM Donnelly and Co Ltd in East Kilbride, between May 2019 and March 2021.
A compensation order in the sum of £41,610.83 was awarded to WM Donnelly and Co Ltd.
A second compensation order in the sum of £39,979.03, was awarded to Kelburn Construction.
Sineidin Corrins, deputy Procurator Fiscal for serious casework at the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), said: 'This confiscation underscores the fact that prosecution of those involved in financial crime does not stop at criminal conviction and sentencing.
'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.'
At Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on May 28, 2025, she was made subject of a confiscation order under Proceeds of Crime legislation in the sum of £81,589.86.
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