A debt-ridden Uttoxeter mum defrauded her childhood friend of nearly £3,500 so she could buy Christmas presents for her children, a court has heard.
Cannock Magistrates' Court was told Amanda Farthing had "lost all her self-worth" after being left bed-ridden by chronic illness for two years.
She wanted to buy her children presents she could not afford - and assumed the identity of a friend of 30 years to do so.
Farthing was renting her friend's house in Ashbourne Road when she committed four counts of fraud by false representation, the court heard.
The 41-year-old used her landlady's personal details to open accounts with stores including Next and Argos and bought gifts on credit.
But she was caught out when the victim's aunt happened to be the courier delivering the presents.
Magistrates ordered Farthing, now of Smithfield Road, to pay the money back in full.
The presiding magistrate, Mrs Shyamali, said: "The companies will be reimbursed, but the real victim her is your friend.
"She’s not only lost a friend of 30 years, but also her good character in terms of credit.
"There’s no monetary value we can place on the harm that’s been caused to her."
Maggie Meakin, prosecuting, said: "As a result of credit searches done on her account [since the offence], the victim's credit score was reduced by 43 points."
In his report to the Bench, probation officer Martin Davies outlined how severe Farthing's illnesses - including degenerative disc disease, myalgia and hyper-mobility syndrome - had become.
He said: "She was struggling financially as she and her children were, at that time, living on the income of a partner.
"She’s got three children, one of whom is an adult and two of whom live with her.
"For her health conditions, she was on a strong cocktail of painkillers.
"She wanted to buy some items for her children, but struggled to get finance because she already had debts.
"Some information fell through the letterbox with the details of her landlady and she decided to use those details to open up accounts to obtain some items.
"She said the intention was to pay the bills back weekly, but she didn’t really consider how she was going to do that.
"She’s expressed a lot of remorse and has had significant losses in her life as a result of what’s happened – she’s lost a good friend and her accommodation.
"She lives with two children at the moment in new accommodation. Unfortunately her relationship broke down in 2017 and she separated with the father.
"She’s of previously-good character and presents a very low risk of further offending."
Neil O’Driscoll, defending, said: "She’s got two daughters and has a lot of issues, including being housebound for two years. She’s on morphine at the moment.
"In her interview, she said she’d been bed-ridden for two years and lost all her self-worth and wanted to buy things for her family she couldn’t usually afford.
"We’re talking about Christmas presents, including computer games."
The offences took place on August 8 and included fraudulently gaining £156.23 credit from Look Again, £603 from Next, £1,821 from Argos and £869.89 from Aqua Credit.
Among the items she bought were computer games goods made by Nintendo.
Farthing was ordered to repay the money, pay a £50 fine and undergo a six-month community order. The case was heard on Thursday, March 22.
