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Spending spree Lichfield woman told to pay back £51k | Spending spree Lichfield woman told to pay back £51k |
(about 17 hours later) | |
A woman who went on a spending spree after being given more than £51,000 by mistake has been told to pay it back. | A woman who went on a spending spree after being given more than £51,000 by mistake has been told to pay it back. |
The money should have been paid to a housing association, but instead Lichfield District Council gave it to Michaela Hutchings, 23, of Lichfield. | The money should have been paid to a housing association, but instead Lichfield District Council gave it to Michaela Hutchings, 23, of Lichfield. |
Staffordshire Police said within two days she spent £5,000 on luxury branded goods and banked another £40,000. | Staffordshire Police said within two days she spent £5,000 on luxury branded goods and banked another £40,000. |
Stafford Crown Court told her she would face 20 months in jail if she did not pay it back in six months. | Stafford Crown Court told her she would face 20 months in jail if she did not pay it back in six months. |
As well as the money she spent on items from Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren and Dior, Hutchings, of Hamlin Walk, gave £1,000 to her family and used £1,093 to pay off court fines, Staffordshire Police said. | |
Clothes auction | Clothes auction |
She admitted dishonestly retaining a wrongly credited bank transfer and in March Stafford Crown Court sentenced her to a 12-month community order and 150 hours of unpaid work. | She admitted dishonestly retaining a wrongly credited bank transfer and in March Stafford Crown Court sentenced her to a 12-month community order and 150 hours of unpaid work. |
At a confiscation hearing on Tuesday, Stafford Crown Court ruled she would also have to pay back £51,006.55 to the council. | At a confiscation hearing on Tuesday, Stafford Crown Court ruled she would also have to pay back £51,006.55 to the council. |
Staffordshire Police said the clothing and accessories she bought would now be sold at auction to help pay off the debt. | Staffordshire Police said the clothing and accessories she bought would now be sold at auction to help pay off the debt. |
The force said they could not be returned to the retailers because the card used to buy them had not been recovered. | The force said they could not be returned to the retailers because the card used to buy them had not been recovered. |
The authority said it had introduced extra checks "to ensure a similar payment error cannot happen again in the future". | The authority said it had introduced extra checks "to ensure a similar payment error cannot happen again in the future". |
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