14 DAY TRIAL // Shortly after a clumsy council had mistakenly transferred £52,000 ($86,500 or €62,800) into a young mother's account, the woman went into a wild shopping spree, spending no less than £9,000 ($14,900 or €10,800) on designer clothes, shoes, sunglasses and other expensive items in a matter of hours.
23-year-old Michaela Hutchings from Lichfield, Staffordshire, couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw the huge amount of money on her account, but instead of reporting the error, she and her partner decided to go on a spending spree at Birmingham’s Bullring.
Daily Mail tells us that Hutchings also gave her mother Elaine a £1,000 ($1,664 / €1,207) gift after discovering the money on her account.
The money was supposed to go to Bromford Housing Association, but was accidentally put into Hutchings' account by a desk clerk working with Lichfield District Council. So, officials desperately tried to find her and explain the accounts mix up.
Meanwhile, the city's council managed to stop a further transfer of £44,500 ($74,000 or €53,700) into her account.
She was eventually caught by police on April 24 last year, and officers discovered that she had put most of the money, £40,000, into an investment account. The woman made the move on the advice of her bank, that was unaware of the mistake. Said account has since been frozen under a restraining order.
The mother-of-one appeared at Stafford Crown Court on Monday and admitted to a charge of dishonestly retaining a wrongly credited bank transfer. She has been spared jail and was given a 12-month community order and told to carry out 150 hours of community work.
Recorder Mr. Derek Desmond told her, “I have no doubt you were influenced by your partner – he wanted to spend the money. You went on a spending spree and between you, you spent £9,000. This man who spurred you on is no longer in your life – no doubt your family will be glad about that.”
Her lawyer, Phillip Bradley, said that in her pre-sentence report, the young woman admitted to a fleeting moment of pleasure in spending the money.
“However, in her mind she was aware this situation would end badly. This was a woman who had shown no sign of dishonesty in her life,” Bradley added.
However, that's not all, as Hutchings will face a further investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover the wrongly transferred funds.