MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — A woman accused of faking her drowning in South Carolina to miss a court appearance pleaded guilty Tuesday.
Amy Robinson, 43, pleaded guilty to identity theft, being a habitual felon, forgery, uttering a forged instrument and five counts of obtaining property by false pretenses. A judge sentenced her to nine years to just under 12 years in prison.
Robinson was scheduled for trial in July but failed to appear in court after reportedly faking her drowning at the South Carolina coast. An order for her arrest was issued, and she turned herself in to authorities within days.
Her trial date was then set for Nov. 3, but she indicated this week that she wanted to plead guilty, according to officials.
During the summer of 2012, Robinson befriended the victim, who loaned Robinson money until eventually the victim told Robinson that she would not give her any more funds.
Then, Robinson forged one of the victim's checks and cashed it for $500. Robinson also took bank routing information from the victim's checks and used that information to pay for credit card and utility bills and purchases on Amazon.com, spending thousands of dollars from the victim's bank account.
Robinson's prior convictions include obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and multiple counts of obtaining property by false pretenses.
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WSOC
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