A mum defrauded her best friend by using her bank card to put down a £2,000 deposit on a Mercedes and stay in lavish hotels.
Anika Allan, 38, from Edinburgh, Scotland, and Anna Renton were longtime “best friends” who had known each other for more than a decade and previously worked and holidayed together.
But their friendship of 13 years ended abruptly in 2019 after it was discovered that Allan had used Ms Renton’s card without her knowing for several illicit transactions.
The mum has admitted to defrauding her former best friend after her activities came to light.
Edinburgh sheriff court heard she had racked up a £2,753.87 bill on her former friend’s card across several crooked transactions, including a car deposit and hotel stays.
But a prosecutor told the court that, in August 2019, she had contacted a Mercedes dealership in Newbridge and placed a £2,000 deposit on a car using Ms Renton’s Barclaycard.
The Scottish Daily Record reported that the deposit was one of several transactions completed by Allan’s illicit usage of Ms Renton’s card, causing the rapid decay of their relationship, which ended four years ago.
Prosecuting, fiscal depute Erin Illand told the court the two were once “best friends”, and that they had once worked together at a property firm directed by Ms Renton.
They had also enjoyed family holidays together with their children, she added, but their friendship was ruined after Allan’s fraudulent usage of Ms Renton’s card came to light.
As well as using the card to put down a deposit on the car, the court heard charges to the Barclaycard also included “hotels that had been paid for”.
Ms Illand said she was alerted to the fraud after she received notifications alerting her to “unauthorised transactions taken from her account”.
Her fraud was reported to the police in 2019, and following an inquiry, she was cautioned and charged.
Representing the mum, defence agent James Stewart claimed there had not been an opportunity to repay her former friend despite Allan having the necessary funds.
Mr Stewart said that since their friendship ended in 2019, there has “not been any opportunity for Ms Allan to make repayment”.
He added: “She tells me she does have sufficient funds to repay the sum.”
Allan has admitted to using electronic means to pay for goods and services by fraud and will be sentenced at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in January 2024.
