Mother accused of murdering her daughter, Casey Anthony, pleads guilty to check fraud.

On Monday, January 25, 2010, Casey Anthony, the now-infamous 23-year-old pleaded guilty to 13 charges in a check-fraud case. Orange County Circuit Court Judge Stan Strickland found Anthony guilty on six of the charges: one count of grand theft, four counts of check forgery, and fraudulent use of personal identification.  Strickland withheld adjudication for the remaining seven counts.

He sentenced Anthony to time served — 412 days she’s already been jailed — and one year of probation. He also ordered her to pay the court and investigative costs associated with the check-fraud case.

Anthony was charged with stealing hundreds of dollars from a friend, Amy Huizenga, in July 2008. Investigators have said Anthony used Huizenga’s checks to buy more than $400 worth of clothes and groceries at area Target and Winn-Dixie stores after her daughter was missing and presumed dead.
At the sentencing, Anthony delivered a brief, tearful, statement to the court.  “I’m sorry for what I did,” she said. “I sincerely apologize to Amy. I wish I would have been a better friend.”

The next step is for her defense attorneys to focus all of their attention on the first degree murder charges that are pending against her at this time.