‘Greedy’ Manchester City exec ordered to pay back £2,550 after stealing £100k from club

Fiona Barclay, 34, swindled more than £100,000 from Manchester City Football Club and told police she used the cash to pay for her wedding and buy gifts for her family.

A former Manchester City executive has been ordered to pay the football club just £2,550 after stealing more than £100,000.

Fiona Berkley, 34, worked as a business development manager in the city’s hotel sector, earning up to £30,000 a year.

She was jailed on fraud charges last November after defrauding the club out of more than £100,000, according to the Manchester Evening News.

Ms. Barkley told police that she used the ill-gotten gains to pay for her wedding. She also spent a lot of money on “gifts” for her husband and her family.

At a criminal proceeds hearing on 7 July she was ordered to pay only £2,550 to the city.

Her week old baby was sleeping next to her.
Judge Timothy Smith said, “Considering all the data uploaded, the damages amounted to £104,934.16, which was attributable to common criminal conduct.”

“The amount available to him is £2,550, which must be repaid by 6 October.” Said it should be paid.

Last November, Manchester Crown Court heard that Barkley was indicted after an accountant reported suspicious transactions when a refund of £25,000 was granted last March.

Mr Berkley was questioned and he admitted he had made a “mistake” and apologized.

She admitted that she deposited £15,000 of it into her own bank account and repaid it to her club. However, further investigation by the club revealed that Barkley had been withdrawing her funds since June 2019.

She stole over £104,000 in total. At this point, City still had £89,000 after Barkley paid off £15,000. Internal disciplinary proceedings were initiated at the club against Barkley and he was released in March 2021.

She pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of power.

Her attorney, Patrick Buckley, said Ms Barkley “was very disgusted with herself”.

“There is no reason or logic for her to do that,” he added.

After being laid off from the city, she found a new job at a travel agency and made her beliefs known to them. Barkley also tried to contact Citi to arrange the return of her stolen money, but received no response, the court found.

Reporter Ciarán Rankin sentenced her to 18 months in prison and said, “This is a tragedy.

“You did a good job as Business Development Manager for Manchester City.

The judge said relegation was not a word associated with Premier League champions City, but that she had “relegated” herself. He added: “I’m afraid you have relegated yourself because of your greed and deception into the ranks of those who can no longer call themselves a person of good character.”

Barclay, of Drum Farm Lane, Falkirk, was jailed for 18 months, of which she served half in prison and will serve the remainder on licence.