Former SNP MP Natalie McGarry has been sentenced to two years in prison for embezzling almost £ 25,000 from the party of which she was once a member and another pro-independence group in which she was involved.
While sentenced for the “very serious charges”, she was told her standards had “fallen far short of what the public has the right to expect from MPs”.
Sheriff Tom Hughes said McGarry, 40, who represented the Glasgow East constituency between 2015 and 2017, betrayed people who put their trust in her and that a jail sentence was inevitable.
He told her: “It is very clear that society has the right to expect the highest standards from those who seek and ultimately achieve high public officials.”
He added: “Through your role in these transgressions, you have not only betrayed the trust that others have placed in you, but your standards have fallen far short of those that the public should have the right to expect from MPs. . “
The sheriff described the offenses as “very serious charges that took place over a long period of time”.
McGarry was found guilty in May of two counts of embezzlement – a total of £ 24,635 – after a trial at the Sheriff’s Court in Glasgow.
A jury found her in the majority guilty of a charge of embezzlement of £ 19 974 while she was treasurer of Women for Independence (WFI) between 26 April 2013 and 30 November 2015.
She was also found guilty by the majority of a second charge of taking £ 4,661 between 9 April 2014 and 10 August 2015 when she was treasurer, secretary and convener of the Glasgow Regional Association of the SNP.
During the six-week trial, the court heard from dozens of witnesses, including Scotland’s former health secretary Jeane Freeman, who said she reported McGarry after noticing a significant shortfall in WFI accounts.
Ms Freeman said she had no idea donations to the group’s independence Crowdfunder from the organization’s PayPal account would go to McGarry’s personal bank account.
She also expressed her frustrations over McGarry’s delay in handing over receipts and invoices that would show what the funds were spent on.
The court also heard from witnesses that McGarry had personal financial problems and regularly received loans from family and friends.
These include Humza Yousaf, the current Scottish Health Secretary, who gave McGarry £ 600 to prevent her from being evicted from her home.
The court also saw McGarry’s bank records, which show Crowdfunder donations from WFI being transferred to her own personal account.
That included £ 10,472.52 on 29 April 2014 and a further £ 9,848.70 on 12 November 2014 – which she used to pay for rent and shopping.
McGarry said it was “legal” expenses she incurred and for which she compensated herself.
With sentencing Thursday, defense agent Allan Macleod urged the sheriff to treat his client as leniently as possible.
He said: “It is difficult to overestimate the significant impact these offenses have had on Ms McGarry’s life.
“In 2015 she was an MP, something that was a lifetime achievement. It was transformed into a life she could barely imagine seven years ago.
“The past seven years have been almost unbearable for her. As a result of these transgressions, she was rejected by her former colleagues, people with whom she was friends, she lost her seat in parliament. “
He said McGarry had to a large extent “withdrawn from life herself” and that her main focus now is on caring for her four-year-old child.
McGarry was elected a SNP member in 2015, but resigned the party whip after the rise of fraud allegations – which she denied.
She continued in Parliament as an independent MP representing Glasgow East, but did not seek re-election in 2017.
McGarry previously appeared in court in 2018 on charges of embezzlement.
She was sentenced by the Glasgow Sheriff’s Court in June 2019 to 18 months behind bars after pleading guilty to two counts of embezzlement of more than £ 25,000.
Days later, she attempted to withdraw her two convictions, but the sheriff ruled that was not possible.
She began serving an 18-month prison sentence before being released on bail days later, pending an appeal.
The conviction was set aside in December 2019, and McGarry was later notified of a new prosecution, which has now been settled.