Suspended prison sentence for music festival treasurer
THE disgraced former treasurer of Kineton Music Festival, who spent £23,000 of the festival's money on ‘mad spending sprees’, will not go to prison, writes our court correspondent.
Samantha Strong was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court yesterday, Friday, to two years in prison suspended for two years and made subject to a 7pm to 7am electronically-tagged curfew for four months.
The court heard the 32-year-old, of Horseshoe Crescent, Wellesbourne, has repaid £13,000 of the money she took – and there will be a hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act following an investigation into her finances.
Strong was the festival's treasurer between November 2015 and August 2016.
Judge Andrew Lockhart QC told her: “You are a mother, and you should be a role model for your child.
“You abused your position of trust as Kineton Music Festival's treasurer, taking £23,000 and more.
"You undertook significant planning, and the activity went on for a sustained period of time.
“You spent it on personal items and living well beyond the means your husband and yourself would have been able to have otherwise. You have nothing to show for it.”
Full story and more reaction in next week's Herald.