Trusted member of staff who stole £46k from Morecambe club ordered to pay back just £1

Gemma Louise Evans, 37, of South Road, Morecambe, faced a proceeds of crime hearing at Burnley Crown Court on November 3 when she was told to pay back £1 to the Jubilee Social Club in Torrisholme.

Evans was secretary at the club from 2019 and stole £46,398.04 from them in that following period.

She pleaded guilty and was sentenced in June to 22 months jail suspended for 18 months plus 180 hours of unpaid work.

Evans was also sentenced to 15 days rehabilitation and ordered to pay £156 victim surcharge.

The Jubilee Club today issued a statement to the Lancaster Guardian.

A club spokesman who attended the proceeds of crime hearing said: “The court was told that Evans has no money and no assets so the judge fined her £1 that was to be paid over to the club.

"He was very empathetic towards the club and the loss of funds; he had read the impact statement and the hardship that it has caused but he was unable to award us money that she hadn’t got.

"He did state that if she comes into any money, we do have a case to claim it from her.”

The spokesman said the committee have been working hard to keep the club afloat following the theft.

“She was convicted in June of the theft but we have kept our thoughts to ourselves as we still had one final hope of receiving some money back from the “Proceeds of Crime” investigation and her final day in court to face the judge,” said the spokesman.

“Evans started working for the club as a glass collector when she was 16. She moved on to work behind the bar and was finally voted by the members into the position as the Secretary in 2019.

“She was a trusted member of staff who took the opportunity that the pandemic offered her to steal repeatedly from the members.

"Nothing was untouched, some of the Christmas club money was taken, thankfully this was replaced from the club funds.

"During this time many bills went unpaid because of her acquiring club funds so by the time she was caught the club now had debts of well over £50k.

“The club is in serious debt and came very close to shutting the doors for the final time.

"Fortunately, some committee members came forward and paid some of these bills and spent time negotiating with the other debtors.

"The committee have learnt from how she managed to steal from us and we have tightened up on all aspects of our security.

“The committee’s aim is to guide the club through the next 12 months, stabilise our finances, present a friendly social club that people want to be a member off and that can be used for the benefit of the local community.”

In 2015 the Jubilee social club was nearly brought to a halt after a man employed there admitted stealing £11,000 from them.

James Barker, 23, of Barley Cop Road, Lancaster, was employed in a financial role at the Jubilee Working Men’s Club which almost had to cease trading after 80 years, Preston Crown Court was told.