Chelsea’s former assistant treasury manager has pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to committing a fraud worth over £200,000 against the Premier League club
A Chelsea employee has admitted abusing her position to defraud the club out of more than £200,000.
Claire Walsh, 39, pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday to a charge of fraud by abuse of position between June 8 2019 and October 23 2023.
Walsh, who worked as an assistant treasury manager at the Premier League football club, admitted dishonestly abusing her position to obtain £208,521.65 for herself. Asked what plea she would enter, Walsh, of Elm Park Gardens, which is less than half a mile from Stamford Bridge, said “guilty”.
Magistrate Kieran O’Donnell told Walsh: “You’ve been charged with an offence of fraud which exceeds £200,000 against Chelsea Football Club.
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“You’ve pleaded guilty to the offence and it exceeds our powers in terms of sentencing. You’ll need to be sent to a crown court for sentencing, where they have the appropriate powers.”
A court clerk told Walsh that she was accused of committing “fraud in that, while occupying a position, namely assistant treasury manager, in which you were expected to safeguard, or not to act against, the financial interests of Chelsea Football Club, you dishonestly abused that position intending thereby to make a gain, namely obtaining the sum of £208,521.65, for yourself.”
Walsh, who was released on unconditional bail, will be sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court at a later date to be determined.
The prosecution said that the amount of money involved took the case into the “A” bracket, meaning it carries the starting point of five years imprisonment, with a range of three to six years.
The Telegraph reports that Walsh worked at Chelsea for over 20 years. Her LinkedIn profile says she was made the club’s full-time treasury assistant in July 2020.
Chelsea reportedly became aware of the alleged offence in spring 2022 and reported the matter to police.
