A nursing student stole her £9,000 rental car and then sold it for just euros to a man she met in France.
Curtisse Bomba disappeared from her Huddersfield home with the Nissan Juke on April 4 this year.
She returned to her home country of France and while on route she sold the vehicle when the opportunity presented itself, Kirklees magistrates were told.
The 23-year-old, currently studying nursing at university, said she was struggling financially and pleaded guilty to theft of a motor vehicle.
The court heard that she took out the agreement to lease the car with Blue Motor Finance in October 2017.
The vehicle was valued at £9,274 and obtained by Bomba while she was living at an address in Greenlea Court.
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She agreed to a hire purchase contract at a rate of £226 a month but then she failed to pay an installment in February, prosecutor Vanessa Jones said.
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The company tried the contact number she provided but it didnt work and she vanished from her home address.
Bomba, now living in Ashton-under-Lyne, was finally traced through another agency.
She claimed that she didnt realise her actions would result in a criminal conviction.
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Bomba said she was pressured to buy the vehicle by the man she was in a relationship with at the time and couldnt afford to keep up with the repayments.
Probation officer Karen Daniel told the court: It was opportunistic. She lost her accommodation and was struggling financially.
She said she was travelling to France where she comes from and was talking to somebody from the Congo about the vehicle.
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The opportunity presented itself, this male purchased the vehicle and she was paid in euros.
She knew she couldnt sell the vehicle.
Magistrates sentenced Bomba to a community order with 10 days of rehabilitation activities and 120 hours of unpaid work.
She will have to pay £85 court costs and £85 victim surcharge.
Magistrates did not order her to pay the £7,000 lost by the company as a result of the theft due to her current debts.
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