A former high flyer in Chelsea Football Club’s finance department has been spared prison after admitting to masterminding a £200,000 ticketing scam.
Claire Walsh, 39, pleaded guilty to dishonestly abusing her position while working as an assistant treasury manager at CFC.
Walsh – who lives in Elm Park Gardens, a short distance from the club’s Stamford Bridge ground – obtained £208,521.65 between June 2019 and October 2023, Isleworth Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Alex Alawode told the court that Walsh exploited her access to the club’s ticketing and finance systems. Chelsea season ticket holders who are unable to attend home matches can list their seats for re-sale through the club’s official exchange, with refunds processed once tickets are resold. Walsh’s role included administering manual refunds.
Inside the Stamford Bridge stadium © Jason Bagley
Mr Alawode revealed that Walsh had been “creating false refunds for tickets that had not been put onto the exchange site”. “No tickets existed,” he added. “She was simply creating a refund as if a ticket did exist on the sheet.”
An internal investigation later uncovered what was described as an unusually high number of manual refunds made to credit cards registered in Walsh’s own name. When confronted by the club, Walsh told managers that her mother was terminally ill and that she had fallen into debt while trying to provide for her family. She resigned from her role immediately.
The court heard that the money had ALL been spent, with some used to support her parents, but vast sums were squandered on gifts, trips and holidays with family and friends.
Walsh, who pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates last November, was given a two-year prison sentence – suspended for 18 months – and ordered to complete up to 25 days of rehabilitation activity and 200 hours of unpaid community work.
Passing sentence, Judge Fiona Barrie said the case amounted to a clear breach of trust. “This is plainly an abuse of trust,” she said. “You held a responsible and trusted position in the finance department and were trusted to handle large sums of money, and you used that position to defraud your employer.”
The judge noted that Walsh, who joined Chelsea Football Club in 2007, had no previous convictions. She said the offence appeared to have been driven by financial pressures and a desire to support her family.
No application for costs or compensation was made by Chelsea Football Club.
The Citizen has asked CFC for comment.
