British TV presenter Hayley Matthews jailed for embezzling $262k of mother’s funds

Former presenter Hayley Matthews has been jailed.

A former STV and BBC presenter has been jailed for more than two years after her sister discovered she had embezzled more than £120,000 ($262,000) from her dementia-stricken mother.

Hayley Matthews, who was also known for fronting an SNP national conference, abused her position of trust to “brazenly fund an extravagant lifestyle”, prosecutors have said.

Suspicions were raised when, after Matthews’ mother, Janice, died in September 2021, she told other family members her estate was worth only £36,000.

Danielle Thomson, Matthews’ sister, obtained copies of financial statements from her mother’s bank and found that thousands had been withdrawn while she was in hospital.

She called the police, and detectives discovered 371 PayPal transactions totalling £46,763 ATM withdrawals amounting to £38,000 and Amazon purchases worth £13,650.

Matthews also bought a Mulberry handbag costing £1371 with her mother’s money, while items purchased from the White Company, an upmarket clothing and homeware store, had a value of £5545.

Matthews, who had power of attorney over her mother’s financial affairs, was jailed for two years and three months after a hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

‘Thefts funded extravagant lifestyle’

Lynne Barrie, the procurator fiscal for Lothian and Borders, said: “Hayley Matthews was placed in a position of family trust to oversee her mother’s financial affairs. But she abused that responsibility by stealing thousands of pounds and used that money to brazenly fund an extravagant lifestyle.

“This case demonstrates that those who seek to exploit vulnerable victims for their own personal gain will be held to account for their crimes.”

The court heard that Matthews’ father, Alistair, had confronted her in January, 2022 about the spending.

During text exchanges, Matthews wrote: “You’re right, I’ve been shocking at handling mum’s money and paperwork.

“I’ve spent what I shouldn’t and used money I shouldn’t. I wasn’t in a very good place when looking after her, but I tried my best.”

Bank statements showed she had also spent her mother’s cash at Harvey Nichols, Kurt Geiger, Molton Brown and Marks & Spencer.

Matthews has also previously worked for BBC Radio Scotland and was a newspaper columnist for the Edinburgh Evening News.

She had worked alongside Lorraine Kelly and interviewed celebrities such as Amy Winehouse and Jason Donovan.

Last month, she pleaded guilty to embezzlement between September 2019 and November 2022. She returned to the dock on Thursday for sentencing.

Sheriff Alison Stirling told Matthews she had been in “a position of trust” and said her behaviour has had “a serious impact” on her family.

She added: “Custody is the only appropriate disposal. Your actions were deliberate and repeated over a period of more than three years.”

Kieran Clegg, defending Matthews, said his client admitted her spending had been “selfish and extravagant” and had offered “very little in the way of explanation”.