Chelsea FC employee admits £200,000 fraud against club

A Chelsea FC employee has admitted abusing her position to defraud the club out of more than £200,000.

Claire Walsh, 39, who worked as an assistant treasury manager at the Premier League football club, admitted dishonestly abusing her position to obtain £208,521.65 for herself.

She pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday to a charge of fraud by abuse of position between 8 June 2019 and 23 October 2023.

Asked what plea she would enter, Walsh, of Elm Park Gardens, Chelsea, said “guilty”. She will be sentenced at a later date at Isleworth Crown Court.