PA who embezzled thousands of pounds from Harry Potter author made bankrupt

PA who embezzled thousands of pounds from Harry Potter author made bankrupt

A former personal assistant to JK Rowling, who was found guilty of embezzling almost £19,000 from the Harry Potter author and order to pay it back, has now declared herself bankrupt.

Ms Rowling has now hit out at her ex-PA as she claims she has not received any of the money taken from her which she had intended to donate to her children’s charity, Lumos.

In April this year a sheriff ruled that Amanda Donaldson, 36, had spent money on a company credit card and took foreign cash from a safe without permission and ordered her to pay it back in full.

However, Donaldson, of Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, was made bankrupt this week with debts of £61,316.



Donaldson applied for bankruptcy, which was approved by the Accountant in Bankruptcy, Scotland’s insolvency service.

She declared she had no assets to pay creditors and a bankruptcy trustee now controls her finances.

Ms Rowling sued Donaldson in a civil case at Airdrie Sheriff Court after sacking her for gross misconduct.

A statement released on behalf of Ms Rowling said: “Following the conclusion of the court case, a decree was served on Amanda Donaldson for the recovery of £18,734 which she had fraudulently misappropriated from JK Rowling.

“This money, once recovered, was intended to be donated to Ms Rowling’s charity Lumos. Ms Rowling has not, thus far, received any of the monies due.

“Ms Donaldson’s subsequent declaration of bankruptcy details debts that are far in excess of the sum due to Ms Rowling.

“Ms Rowling hopes that in taking action against Ms Donaldson and highlighting her fraudulent behaviour, she has stopped her defrauding or breaching the trust of anyone else.”

The civil hearing heard how Donaldson, who worked for Ms Rowling between February 2014 and April 2017, treated the job as a “blank cheque” and bought many luxury items.

Donaldson denied all wrongdoing, insisting all the money had been used to buy items for the personal and business use of Ms Rowling.

But in a written ruling, Sheriff Derek O’Carroll said Donaldson had obtained the money through “fraudulent misrepresentation” and had shown “persistent brazen dishonesty”.

In evidence, Donaldson insisted she did nothing wrong and claimed Rowling was a “generous but not approachable” employer.

Share icon
Share this article: