Latest news with #StephanniHouston
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Embezzling mother who changed her name and swindled £500,000 from two different jobs by raiding OAPs' bank accounts is ordered to pay cash back
A greedy Scottish mother has been put behind bars after she swiped £500k from two businesses over the course of four years. Stephanni Houston, also known as Bryden, had previously raided cash accounts of a blind lady aged 93 and an 89-year-old frail woman in her relentless pursuit of money. She was sentenced to three years jail in 2023 at Keilmarnock Sheriff Court after having defrauded the pensioners at an Ayrshire care home out of thousands years earlier. Now, prosecutors have been awarded a confiscation order of £81,589.86 - with the possibility more cash could be pursued in the future. Speaking of the order, 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.' Houston avoided jail in 2014 when she was ordered to pay back all of the £2425 she defrauded while working as an administrator for Berelands Care Home in Prestwick. It comes as she had raided accounts belonging to three OAPs - a 93-year-old blind woman, a frail 89-year-old woman, and two men aged 83 and 91. After admitting fraud at Ayr Sheriff Court, Houston was ordered to do 240 hours of unpaid work and to repay the money within a year. The court heard she had forged managers' signatures to take residents' money from the home between April 1 and December 21, 2013. Houston's deceit was described by a sheriff as 'a serious offence against those who are the most vulnerable' and bosses reported having to compensate residents for their losses. She 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.' But in a matter of years, Houston was ordered to prison as she betrayed two more employers. The fraudster admitted emezzling £253,281.30 while working as an office administrator at Kelburne Construction in Kilmarnock from February 1 2017 to March 31 2021. Months later she began the process of embezzling £262,987.68 in her job as a book-keeper for WM Donnelly and Co in East Kilbride, swiping the cash between May 17 2019 and March 31 2021. A source close to the record said at the time it was 'clearly a greed thing' and pointed out colleagues had been 'scratching their heads' due to her Houston having a better car than her boss - a top-of-the-range Audi. They added her name had been 'Bryden' when done for the nursing home fraud but Houston when she went to Kelburne. The source said: 'Everyone got on fine with her in the office. 'She got a warning for the incident in the nursing home and got out of going to jail but she's obviously not shown any respect for the authorities or her employers. 'The day police came into the yard she was the one who showed them to the boss's office. She must have had a few heartbeats when the police car drew up that day.' 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.
STV News
7 days ago
- Business
- STV News
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. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Glasgow Times
7 days ago
- Glasgow Times
Woman jailed for fraud ordered to repay thousands
Stephanni Houston was sentenced to 38 months in prison in November 2023 for embezzling more than £516k from two construction companies - one in East Kilbride and the other in Kilmarnock. The 41-year-old from Ayr is said to have done this over four years. On May 28, 2025, Houston, also known as Bryden, was made subject of a confiscation order at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court. She has been ordered to pay back £81,589.86. It was also recorded that the benefit of the criminal conduct was £516,268.98. READ NEXT: New image emerges of Glasgow man missing in Portugal The Crown noted that the confiscation order can be revisited if further assets are identified in the future. This will be paid towards the full amount that was determined as the benefit of the crime. Houston was convicted at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court after admitting to embezzling £253,281.30 while working as an office administrator at Kelburn Construction in Kilmarnock between February 2017 and January 2019. READ NEXT: Drunk driver reached 105mph during police chase over Erskine Bridge Just months later, she began embezzling £262,987.68 while employed as a bookkeeper for WM Donnelly and Co Ltd in East Kilbride, taking the cash between May 2019 and March 2021. A compensation order of £41,610.83 was awarded to WM Donnelly Ltd. Meanwhile, a second compensation order 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."
Daily Record
7 days ago
- Daily Record
Greedy Scots mum jailed for swindling £500k from two jobs ordered to pay back cash
Admin assistant Stephanni Houston, also known as Bryden, was ordered to pay back just £80,000 after being locked up for three years. A greedy Scots mum who was jailed for swindling more than half-a-million pounds from two different jobs has been ordered to pay back £80,000. Stephanni Houston, also known as Bryden, was locked up for three years in 2023 after admitting swiping more than £516,000 from two more firms over the course of four years. We revealed how the 41-year-old admin worker, from Ayr, was locked up for 38 months at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court after making a bleating apology in the Record two years earlier for defrauding pensioners out of thousands at an Ayrshire care home. Now prosecutors have been awarded a confiscation order to the sum of £81,589.86 - saying the mum could be pursued for more cash in the future. 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." Houston avoided jail in 2014 when she was ordered to pay back all of the £2425 she defrauded while working as an administrator for Berelands Care Home in Prestwick. She raided cash accounts belonging to a 93-year-old blind woman, a frail 89-year-old woman, and two men aged 83 and 91. Houston admitted fraud at Ayr Sheriff Court and was ordered to do 240 hours of unpaid work as well as repaying the money within a year. The court was told she had forged managers' signatures to take residents' money from the home between April 1 and December 21, 2013. Bosses said they had to compensate residents for their losses while a sheriff described her deceit as 'a serious offence against those who are the most vulnerable'. When the Record approached Bryden she blamed her poor accounting. She told our reporter 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.' But in November 2023, Houston was sent to prison for betraying two more employers. She admitted embezzling £253,281.30 while working as an office administrator at Kelburne Construction in Kilmarnock from February 1, 2017, to January 29, 2019. Months later she started embezzling £262,987.68 while working as a book-keeper for WM Donnelly and Co in East Kilbride, taking the cash between May 17, 2019, and March 31, 2021. When she was jailed, a source close to the case told the Record: 'It's clearly a greed thing. Her car in the yard at work was better than the boss's car. Everyone was scratching their heads. She was sitting in a top-of-the-range Audi but no one thought for one minute what she was up to. 'When she was done for the nursing home fraud her name was Bryden but when she went to Kelburne her name was Houston. Everyone got on fine with her in the office. She seemed good at her job but no one knew her background. Her past only came to light after she did what she did. 'She got a warning for the incident in the nursing home and got out of going to jail but she's obviously not shown any respect for the authorities or her employers. The day police came into the yard she was the one who showed them to the boss's office. She must have had a few heartbeats when the police car drew up that day.' At Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on Friday, a confiscation order was made to the sum of £81,589.86. The confiscation order can be revisited if further assets are identified in the future to be paid towards the full amount that was determined as the benefit of the crime. 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. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community!
