Mum stole £2,700 of groceries in self-service checkout scam… and you’ll never guess the bizarre method she used
Kylie Milner's scam went on for three months before she was caught by a staff manager
A MUM has been caught stealing £2,700 worth of groceries by sticking fake barcodes on items before scanning them through self-service checkouts.
Kylie Milner, 35, from Brisbane in Australia, spent three months photocopying barcodes from 65c fried noodles and putting them on products before getting caught.
Milner used self-service checkouts multiple times a day at major supermarket chains Coles and Woolworths, reported.
Items stolen included coffee machines, toilet paper, cleaning products, sheet sets, meats, frozen seafood, and toiletries.
Police were tipped off after a staff manager noticed a "regular female customer" always looked "nervous" while going to pay.
When cops went to her home, they found glue sticks and copies of the fraudulent barcodes on her computer along with items with the fake labels stuck on them.
Milner, who appeared in Ipswich Magistrates Court on Monday, pleaded guilty to 31 counts of fraud, three counts of attempted fraud and and one count of possessing a drug related utensil.
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Her defence lawyer Matthew Fairclough said she was "struggling financially"and was motivated by "need rather than greed".
But magistrate Virginia Sturges said: "The restitution is very conservative and I estimate it is very likely you stole a considerable amount more."
Milner was given a suspended nine-month prison sentenced and ordered to pay £951 compensation to Coles and £1274 to Woolworths.
She was also fined £92.
Cole's father told his daughter regretted her actions.
He said: "‘She’s a different person now. She has turned her life around."
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