A woman has been fined £360 after gaining thousands of pounds in a two-year benefit fraud.
Celine Thornton, 25, failed to report to the Department of Work and Pensions she had received three substantial sums of month while living at an address in Kirkcaldy.
As a result she claimed £8700 of Universal Credit to which she was not entitled.
Thornton, now of Glasgow, admitted committing the fraud between February 2021 and May 2023.
Rapist guilty
A controlling serial rapist who attacked two women over a three-year period in Dundee has been remanded in custody after being found guilty in a high court trial. Fraser Barclay, 25, was convicted of multiple rapes, violent domestic abuse and sexual assaults between 2018 and 2021 at addresses in the city and elsewhere.
‘You’re a big boy now’
A serial thief who stole a Kelty pensioner’s car from outside her home has been given a chance to avoid prison.
Cameron Wells accelerated away in the 65-year-old’s Vauxhall Adam while her back was turned for just a few minutes.
The vehicle was abandoned in another town some 15 miles away.
Wells, 22, previously pled guilty to working with others to steal the car from outside his victim’s cottage on June 23 2022.
He further admitted his role in the theft of two other vehicles in the Crieff area later that year.
Returning to Perth Sheriff Court for sentencing, Wells was commended for progress he had made with social workers’ support since his last appearance in March.
Sheriff William Wood deferred sentence for six months for Wells to prove he can keep out of trouble.
He said: “There are signs of positivity in this report before me but jail would still be an option – maybe not a likelihood but still an option.”
“You are a big boy now. It’s time to take control and think about what kind of life you are wanting to have.
“It’s not too late to turn things around.”
Wells, from Edinburgh, will be sentenced in November.
Cocaine ‘warehousing’
Two men have been sentenced after pleading guilty to stashing £20,000 worth of cocaine in a Methil garage. Lee Lamont and Nico Sword previously admitted being concerned in the Class A drug’s supply between October and November 2023.
Modified ‘firearm’
A teenage cocaine dealer caught by police with a modified imitation firearm and “blanks” will be sentenced next month.
Connor McLeod, now 18, was brought from Rossie in Montrose, where he is remanded, to Dundee Sheriff Court to admit a string of offences.
He admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine between March and June last year at various locations in the city.
On 7 March 2024, he was caught with a knife and a modified imitation firearm at a pathway at Ogilvie’s Close on Dundee’s Nethergate.
The top-venting blank-firing pistol had been modified by being painted black.
On June 30, officers seized ammunition from his home in McAlpine Road, Dundee, and he admitted having “blank” ammunition without the required permission of the Secretary of State.
McLeod also admitted later breaching a bail curfew.
Sheriff Paul Brown refused the teenager’s bid to be liberated again and continued his remand while background reports and a risk assessment are prepared.
Solicitor Jim Laverty said his client had had a “wake-up call”.
House-buy scammer
A fraudster conned the Scottish Government and a top building society out of more than £130,000 to fraudulently buy property in Perth. Raza Hussain produced fake bank statements and gave bogus income details to secure funding for a three-bedroom home in the city.
Attempted murder charge
Derry Nelson, 31, from Fife, appeared in private at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court accused of assault to severe injury, permanent disfigurement, danger of life and attempted murder.
He also faced charges of assault to injury and having a bladed item in a public place without lawful authority.
Nelson made no plea and was remanded in custody. The case was continued for further examination.
The appearance came after Police Scotland said two people – a 38-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman – were taken to hospital following an incident at Lawrence Court, Buckhaven on Saturday May 10.
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