Woman took £820 due for tax return from friend

Court: 33-year-old denied stealing

A Moray woman has been found guilty of stealing hundreds of pounds from her friend after offering to help file her tax return.

Prosecutors had alleged that Lindsay Scotland had stolen £822 from her friend, Rebecca Smart, at an address on Station Road, Ellon, on February 2, 2014.

The 33-year-old, whose address was given as John Street, Lossiemouth, had denied the accusation and appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court for the second day of her trial yesterday.

After consulting an accountant, Scotland asked self-employed Miss Smart, who was also the sister of her then partner, to pay her the money owed and she would send HMRC a cheque.

But after Miss Smart received a letter from the authorities telling her she still owed the cash, it emerged that Scotland had kept it for herself.

Yesterday, defence agent Jennifer Pritchard had argued there was no case to answer, as the Crown had not proved there was criminal intent.

She said that Scotland, who had now paid the money back in full, had made attempts to pay the tax but there had been a “misunderstanding”.

However, Sheriff Christine McCrossan dismissed Miss Pritchard’s motion and said the Crown had put forward enough evidence to prosecute Scotland.

In her final submission, fiscal depute Sophie Hanlon said that while Scotland had eventually paid the money owed, there was clear evidence she had withheld the cash from Miss Smart and the taxman prior to being confronted.

But in her own submission, Miss Pritchard argued there had been no criminal intent and said this was corroborated by previous evidence from the accountant.

She told the court that the witness had confirmed Scotland had contacted him to help her with the tax return.

Miss Pritchard also said Scotland had torn two cheques from a chequebook recovered by police, and had written notes on the stubs as she was instructed to do by the accountant.

But Sheriff McCrossan told Scotland the evidence left her with no choice but to find her guilty.

She said: “Whether your intention was to permanently deprive Miss Smart of that money or not, I’m afraid that the charge of theft has been made out against you and I find you guilty of that.”

Sheriff McCrossan deferred sentence to next month for reports.

GUILTY: Lindsay Scotland denied stealing cash from a friend and claimed there had been a misunderstanding