A mother from England who stole £1.6m ($2.2m) from her Derbyshire employer to fund her gambling habit will have to sell her home, her designer goods, and her Mercedes-Benz — complete with personalized number plate — to help pay back a fraction of what she took.
Recorder Tim Spruce sentenced Karen Brailsford, 53, to four years and eight months in jail for the crime in September 2022. Seh appeared from prison by video link at a Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing at Derby Crown Court on Thursday.
Brailsford had only £130,314.59 ($164,284.35) worth of assets
While Brailsford has been in jail, Derbyshire Police’s financial investigators have been following her money trail. At this week’s hearing, the probe revealed Brailsford had only £130,314.59 ($164,284.35) worth of assets to her name.
Unlike the US equivalent Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act (CAFRA), money that is seized under POCA is divided equally between the police and the government and is often used to bankroll community projects. In the gambling mom’s case, Judge Shaun Smith KC instead ordered £130,000 ($163,926) to go the employer she fleeced, Urban Design and Development.
Of the money Brailsford stole, police uncovered she spent £298,867 ($376,704) on gambling.
