Woman defrauded her own grandmother

A TWENTY five year old woman stole credit and debit cards from her own granny before fraudulently chalking up spending of around £1,600 last year.

Dawn Smith, of 10 Cruester View, Lerwick, was given 160 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to stealing the two cards from an address in Sandwick between 27 February and 6 June last year.

She pretended to be her grandmother to set up store accounts, buy goods and services from various shops and withdraw money from cash machines on several different occasions in the first half of 2015.

At Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday, defence agent Tommy Allan said his client had relapsed into heroin use before perpetrating the “gross breach of trust”.

No one could blame her grandmother for taking the steps she did and involving the police, he said.

Smith was fortunate that she remains “exceptionally well supported” by her family, including her granny.

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“She’s bitten the hand that fed her, but not bitten it right off,” Allan said.

Since then, he continued, Smith had made real efforts to deal with her addiction so the “immediate need” for money is no longer there.

Sheriff Philip Mann also said it was a “gross breach of trust”. Her family had stuck by her and she should “count yourself extremely fortunate that that’s the case”.

He noted that Smith had kept herself out of trouble since the end of her fraudulent spending spree.

Sheriff Mann imposed the sentence of 160 hours’ community service, with a supervision requirement, as a direct alternative to custody.