A YOUNG woman stole more than £1000 from her trusting gran who had asked her for help with online shopping.
A sheriff told Paige Colquhoun she had committed a “real breach of trust” in scamming her grandmother over the course of a year.
The older woman had bought a new mobile phone and asked her granddaughter to help her set it up, including handing over her bank details to arrange online shopping.
Glasgow Sheriff Court heard the 22-year-old used the details to steal £1006.12 in a year-long spending spree from May 23, 2018 to April 2, 2019.
Depute fiscal Lauren Ram Sangray told the court: “The witness had received a new mobile phone and asked the accused to set it up for her for online shopping.
“The witness gave the accused her bank details to enter into an online shopping account.
“She was not given permission to use the bank details for anything else.
“When the witness received a bank statement she noticed money had gone missing.
“She went to her local branch to ask for help and saw items listed from JustEat, iTunes and PayPal had come out of her account without her knowledge.
“She noticed notifications on her phone were in Colquhoun’s name. The witness contacted the police and the accused was located, cautioned and charged.”
Colquhoun’s defence brief told the court the money had been reimbursed in full to her 74-year-old gran by the bank.
He said: “What I would say at the outset is she accepts full responsibility and without taking advice pleaded guilty to these matters.
“She has a very positive report [from social work] that puts things in context.
“She is a young woman aged 22 years and she has never been in trouble with police before.
“At the time of this incident she was involved in a toxic relationship with a man who appeared to be exerting coercive control and trying to get money from elsewhere.
“She accepts full responsibility and regrets she stole from someone very close to her who she cares for very much.”
Sheriff Diana McConnell said she had some concerns about the contents of the report, including the fact the accused had not told her new partner about the crime.
She added: “This was a real breach of trust in respect of your grandmother.
“She trusted you to help her with her shopping and money and over an extended period of time, over a year, you have continually used her money without her permission for yourself.”
Colquhoun, from Provanhall, was given a community payback order with supervision for 12 months as a direct alternative to custody.
She will have to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work within 12 months, reduced from 150 hours thanks to her early guilty plea.
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