A woman who stole credit cards from three American tourists and went on a spending spree has been handed a community punishment.

Drug addict Barbara Eve, 46, took advantage of her job as a chambermaid at Pompano Beach Club to commit the crimes in 2006.

She racked up bills totalling thousands of dollars buying clothes, car accessories and cell phones.

The mother-of-two pleaded guilty to theft and obtaining property by deception at an earlier court hearing.

Handing her a two-year sentence, suspended for two years, Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons chided: "The offences to which you have pleaded guilty are serious offences, both because they involve financial loss but also the privacy and security of guests on our shores."

Outlining the background to the case, Crown counsel Cindy Clarke told Supreme Court that Police got a call from the fraud control department at Merrill Lynch bank in New York in January this year.

The complainant reported that customer Pamela Lederer, 46, from Massachusetts, suspected her Visa debit card was stolen while she was on vacation at Pompano in August, 2006.

A total of 408 fraudulent transactions were completed on the card prior to it being cancelled, with $23,931 spent at shops, restaurants and gas stations across Bermuda.

Police in Bermuda found that Eve used Ms Lederer's card on August 28, 2006 to purchase clothes and shoes worth $563 from the English Sports Shop.

They raided her home in Grandstand Lane, Sandys, and found items that had been purchased using the stolen card along with Visa sales receipts in the name of Robyn Fridberg, 45, from Colorado.

Eve was arrested, and in a Police interview admitted stealing Ms Lederer's card from a guest room and being responsible for all the fraudulent transactions involved.

She denied any knowledge of the receipts in the name of Ms Fridberg. However, further inquiries revealed that card was stolen from Ms Fridberg while she was on vacation at Pompano in June and July 2006. It was fraudulently used 21 times in Bermuda after this, for goods and services worth $3,477.

One of these transactions was at Autobahn Accessories, where the card was used to purchase car rims and tyres worth $2,650. The store owner told Police they were fitted to a silver Mazda MX3 car registered to Eve.

Further inquiries revealed she used a stolen MasterCard in the name of Karen Brownlee, 45, from Pennsylvania, at the same store to buy a set of customised registration plates.

Ms Brownlee told the Police her card was stolen while she was on vacation at Pompano in May, 2006. It was used fraudulently 49 times to rack up a $3,424 bill including two cell phones worth $449. These were registered in the name of Eve and her daughter.

After this discovery, Police raided Eve's home again and the home of one of her daughters. Eve was re-arrested and this time admitted stealing the cards belonging to Ms Fridberg and Ms Brownlee from guest rooms at Pompano.

"During the course of the investigation, goods to the value of $6,447.20 have been recovered. These goods include a large quantity of clothing and apparel, cell phones, car accessories and other household goods," reported Ms Clarke.

Eve appeared before Supreme Court last month, when she pleaded guilty to charges of theft and obtaining property by deception amounting to $3,662. She pleaded not guilty to a string of additional charges totalling $2,885. These were ordered to lie on file, not to be proceeded with.

She had faced a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, a $100,000 fine, or both.

Asking for clemency, defence lawyer Rick Woolridge Jr said Eve co-operated with the Police. He called evidence from a supervisor at the drug programme Turning Point who said she is in the outpatient stage of the treatment process.

Eve sobbed and held hands with Mr. Woolridge as she addressed the judge, begging for "a second chance".

"I would just like to apologise to the court for my actions and apologise to my daughters from the pain I put them through," she said.

Eve was also handed an 18-month probation order by the judge. The terms include drug testing and a curfew for the next six months, which means she must stay inside her home between 9.30 p.m and 6.30 a.m.