Classy check-bouncer faces sentencing in U.K.

updated 5:53 a.m. ET Oct. 2, 2008

LONDON - A woman who admits using bad checks to buy art and jewels worth some 2 million pounds (US$3.6 million) faces sentencing in London.

Shahra Marsh has admitted bouncing checks to Parisian boutiques and auction houses including Sotheby's, Christie's and Bonhams. Her biggest purchase was a 100,000 pounds (US$180,000) diamond ring.

She pleaded guilty on Wednesday to 20 charges of fraudulently obtaining goods and concealing goods between 2005 and 2007.

Prosecutors say she sometimes used aliases, and might use a French, British or American accent while charming her victims. She allegedly carried on with her frauds even after being arrested for the first time in 2006.

She is scheduled for sentencing Thursday.

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