A WOMAN accused of defrauding a Pembrokeshire care home out of nearly half a million pounds is due to appear in court tomorrow (Tuesday, July 29).

KAREN MURRAY, aged 57, of Prospect Place, Haverfordwest, is facing a total of nine serious fraud and forgery charges in what is expected to be one of the most significant white-collar crime cases seen at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court in recent years.

The case is listed for first hearing at 2:00pm.

Alleged abuse of position

Murray is alleged to have abused her position as Finance Director of East Park Care Centre, Jeffreyston, near Kilgetty between 2012 and 2024 to siphon off vast sums of money for her own personal gain.

According to the charges, Murray is accused of dishonestly obtaining more than £500,000 across multiple transactions over a decade, using her trusted role to manipulate finances and authorise fraudulent payments.

In one of the most serious allegations, she is accused of unlawfully gaining £273,174.97 between June 2013 and March 2019. Another charge alleges a separate gain of £173,783.70 between April 2013 and May 2019.

Further charges detail smaller, but still significant, alleged frauds of £15,000, £4,789, and £35,777.75, all said to have been committed while she was responsible for the financial oversight of the care centre.

Forgery charges

In addition to the fraud allegations, Murray is also charged with three counts of forgery. These include allegedly forging the signature of a fellow director on a Companies House resignation form and forging company accounts between 2012 and 2018.

One specific charge states she forged the signature of Jane Haskayne on a loan application intended for The Funding Circle in 2017.

The total amount of alleged fraudulent gain across all charges exceeds £505,000.

Possible Crown Court transfer

Given the scale and complexity of the allegations, the case is likely to be transferred to Crown Court following tomorrow’s hearing. The offences carry maximum penalties ranging from six months to 12 months’ imprisonment per charge, and unlimited fines.

The Herald will be in court to report on developments as they happen.

Pupils praised for innovation in tackling waste at school and home

PENNAR COMMUNITY SCHOOL has been recognised with a national award for its outstanding environmental work, winning the Innovation Challenge in the “Build a Waste-Free World” category of Keep Wales Tidy’s Climate Challenge Cymru.

The award, presented at a special ceremony in Cardiff last month, celebrates the school’s inspiring film project which documented its campaign to reduce waste both in school and at home. The school was among several honoured across Wales for their efforts to combat climate change, in an initiative backed by First Minister Eluned Morgan.

Each class at Pennar took on a different aspect of waste during the Spring Term, exploring topics such as plastic pollution, fast fashion and food waste. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 monitored the school’s food waste and worked closely with Jennifer James from the sustainability charity Awel Aman Tawe to find ways to reduce it.

Siân Taylor, the school’s Sustainability Lead, said: “Sustainability is at the core of everything we do at Pennar School, and the environmental work led by our Green Team has been embedded into our evolving curriculum.

“The project was inspired by discussions at our annual COP (Conference of Pennar) Climate Conference and has been entirely pupil-led. Every learner and staff member has taken part, and we are absolutely delighted to see their hard work recognised at the Climate Challenge Cymru Awards.”

Jennifer James added: “It has been truly inspiring to work with such engaged pupils across the whole school. This is a well-deserved award.”

The school’s Green Team has also been leading efforts to cut energy consumption and currently tops the Energy Sparks league table for Wales. Their work recently earned the school the prestigious Eco Schools’ Platinum Award.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and the Welsh Language, Cllr Guy Woodham, praised the achievement, saying: “These are fantastic achievements for Pennar Community School. The staff and pupils are showing an admirable commitment to tackling climate change. Well done to all involved!”

To see more about Pennar’s environmental journey, visit the Keep Wales Tidy Climate Challenge Cymru award winners page.

MORE than 40 girls have taken part in a range of different sports as part of a Sport Pembrokeshire Us Girls event.

Sports ranging from gymnastics and archery to taekwondo and zorb balling were on offer at Ysgol Bro Gwaun on July 7.

The Year 7 pupils enjoyed the activities led by local community clubs and providers, assisted by Young Ambassadors from the school.

Other activities included fitness, cricket, netball, hockey and rowing.

Water and fruit was kindly donated by Princes Gate and Morrisons and goodies donated by Meigan Design, Crefftau Meigan Fach, Boots and Hair Syrup.

Dan Bellis from Sport Pembrokeshire, said: “We had a fantastic fun filled morning of activities and a great time was had by all.

“A big thanks to all the girls for their energy, effort and enthusiasm and to all the delivers and local providers for supporting this event.

“It was lovely to hear comments that it had been a fun day in school, even for those pupils who would normally not enjoy sports.”