A CONVICTED fraudster is still employed as a manager at a Cornish autism charity, despite being jailed.
Deborah Matthews, of Falmouth, was sent to prison last month for dishonestly spending thousands of pounds of company money on designer clothes and jewellery.
She is now set to have her position as compliance manager at Penryn-based Spectrum reviewed after she failed to tell her bosses about the seriousness of the allegations she was facing.
Her involvement in MacDonald Macphee Developments Limited (MMD), which was labelled "a hub for fraudulent activity" by a judge, only came to the attention of Spectrum after Matthews was jailed and the details of the case were reported in the West Briton – more than a month after she pleaded guilty to serious fraud charges.
On June 16, Matthews appeared at Truro Crown Court where she admitted having acted in contravention of a disqualification undertaking between April 2002 and July 2008 and fraudulent trading in that period.
After that hearing she was granted bail to await sentencing.
Matthews was hired by Spectrum, which runs 25 residential units, in July 2009, initially working as an admin manager, then as head of resources, deputy finance manager and most recently as compliance manager.
A spokesman for Spectrum, which provides care to people with autistic spectrum disorders, said Matthews had no access to the movement of funds, which could only be authorised by the finance director or chief executive.
Matthews, aged 53, of Comfort Road, Mylor Bridge, was jailed for 18 months on July 22, but is technically still an employee of Spectrum.
The offences related to her position as a director of MMD, which she ran with her partner Mark Abbott-Compton, who pleaded guilty to similar charges.
The court heard that they used company funds to live a lavish lifestyle, putting small businesses which sub-contracted work for the development company at risk of bankruptcy.
A spokesman for Spectrum said: "She did make us aware that a court case was pending in relation to her partner's business, but we were not aware of the gravity of the case nor the extent of her involvement until we saw it reported in the local media.
"She passed a criminal records check via the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly the Criminal Records Bureau) and did not give us any cause for concern in the conduct of her duties for us.
"In light of her conviction her position is under review and we are taking advice."
