A woman stole the phone of her vulnerable neighbour and ran up a £500 bill, a court heard.
Alyssa MacDonald, 36, of 48 Morrison Road, Elgin, spent months finding excuses to visit the woman in order to steal her portable handset and make personal calls.
Fiscal depute Ruairidh McAlister told Elgin Sheriff Court: “The complainer noticed one of her handsets was going missing, and on some occasions the accused helped her look for it. On these occasions, the accused would find the handset very quickly.
“The complainer was very uncomfortable and suspicious of this.”
When the next quarterly bill -normally around £50 — came in at over £514.99, the suspicions were heightened.
MacDonald overheard her neighbour discussing the surprisingly high bill with her daughter and admitted to taking the phone.
The pensioner then phoned the police and MacDonald was charged with repeatedly stealing the handset between August 18 and November 14.
Defence counsel James MacKay said MacDonald, who admitted the offence yesterday, claimed to have repaid £100 with the promise of more money in the coming weeks.
Sheriff John Rafferty said: “This is a shockingly mean, nasty and calculated offence. Clearly, when the compensation has been paid there can be some move towards resolution.”
Sheriff Rafferty deferred sentence on MacDonald until September 24 so she could continue to pay funds to the victim.
