An Ayrshire care home supervisor has been struck off after swindling cash from a boys football club.
Louise Williams, who previously worked at Fullarton Care Home in Irvine, embezzled £549.71 while she was treasurer of an Under 14s team.
She was convicted of the offence at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court on January 18 this year, prompting care regulator, the Scottish Social Services Council (SSCC), to open proceedings against her.
The SSSC found that in or around February 2020, while employed at Fullarton, Williams failed to inform them she had been charged by Police Scotland in connection with the embezzlement.
And after Williams passed up the opportunity to have her case heard by a Fitness to Practise Panel, the watchdog decided the only appropriate sanction was to remove her from their register from May 26.
The SSSC said in a decision notice: “You have been convicted of embezzlement while acting as treasurer of a children’s football club.
“Being convicted of a crime of dishonesty while acting in a position of trust calls into question your suitability to work as a social services worker, as it demonstrates that you are willing to abuse the trust placed in you for your own financial gain.
“Your actions caused financial harm and could have caused emotional harm. Your behaviour breaches the trust and confidence placed in you as a social services worker.
“By failing to communicate your criminal charge to the SSSC, you prevented the SSSC from carrying out the appropriate risk assessment to assess whether action needed to be taken in respect of your registration with the SSSC in light of the criminal charge against you.
“Your behaviour could have potentially placed users of services and the wider public at an increased risk of harm.”
The SSSC acknowledged the embezzlement was an isolated incident that took place in February 2018 but said Williams’ behaviour was “fundamentally incompatible with the values of the profession”.
They also stated there was no evidence of any insight, regret or reflection and therefore a risk of similar behaviour being repeated.
The regulator said no other sanction was appropriate given the serious nature of events.
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