Scots TV presenter guilty of embezzling £120,000 from dementia-suffering mother jailed

Hayley Matthews has been sentenced

A Scots TV and radio presenter who embezzled £120,000 from her dementia suffering mother has been jailed for more than two years.

Hayley Matthews splashed out on a designer Mulberry handbag, swimming lessons for two children and made cash withdrawals of £38,000.

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Matthews, 44, began spending her elderly mother, Janice Matthews, money after being made power of attorney over her mother’s financial affairs in 2019.

The television personality also spent her mother’s money on Amazon purchases amounting to £13,648.97, eBay goods worth £1,137.82 and more than £5,000 with the White Company. Edinburgh Sheriff Court also heard the former STV2 presenter made purchases with Harvey Nichols, H&M, Milton Brown and Monsoon and on goods from Greggs, Deliveroo, Five Guys and Hotel Chocolat.

Matthews pleaded guilty to embezzling £120,000 from Mrs Matthews while acting as power of attorney between 24 September, 2019 and 8 November, 2022 when she appeared in court last month.

She returned to the dock for sentencing on Thursday where Sheriff Alison Stirling said she had been in “a position of trust” and said her behaviour has had “a serious impact” on her family.

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

The sheriff sentenced Matthews, of Restalrig, Edinburgh, to a period of 27 months in custody.

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

Mr Clegg said custody would have “a substantial impact on her family”, would be “significantly detrimental” to her and that she had been deemed as “a very low risk of reoffending”.

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Previously, prosecutor Nadia Stewart told the court Janice Matthews had been diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2019 and suffered from an alcohol addiction, leading her to being admitted to hospital on a compulsion order.

Matthews took control of her mother’s financial affairs but concerns were raised about the finances following the death of Mrs Matthews in September 2021.

The court heard Matthews’ sister Danielle Thomson queried the amount she would be receiving from her mother’s estate and that the radio presenter had been “dismissive” of her enquiries.

Matthews family received copies of Mrs Matthews bank statements and noticed “cashline withdrawals had substantially increased” after she had been admitted to hospital.

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Dad Alistair Matthews, a retired fire fighter, then contacted his daughter for an explanation in January 2022 where she admitted spending large sums for her own gain.

The court was told Matthews’ sister “analysed the transactions on her mother’s bank accounts” and after spotting around £100,000 was missing decided to contact the police.

Matthews was arrested on 5 January last year and during an interview she said she had spent money on hampers at Harvey Nichols for hospital staff and clothes for her partner.

Matthews is a former presenter of the STV2 arts magazine show Live at Five, has worked as a radio presenter with Talk 107, Forth 1 and Real Radio and was a newspaper columnist before resigning last year.

She has also worked alongside Lorraine Kelly on the STV Children's Appeal live show and has interviewed stars including Jason Donovan, Amy Winehouse, Andy Williams, Nile Rogers and Gary Numan.

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