Ammie Louise Thelma Blinksell, 33, appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday afternoon after pleading guilty to four counts of obtaining property by deception between December 2020 and January 2021.

Blinksell's "unsophisticated" crimes involved answering Gumtree advertisements, posted by people selling second-hand mobile phones for about $800 each, and arranging to meet the sellers.

As defence lawyer Sam McLaughlin put it, she would take their phones before "legging it away from the scene".

Mr McLaughlin told the court the 33-year-old had battled through a "dysfunctional upbringing" and a "long-standing" drug addiction, but she had stopped using both methamphetamine and cannabis.

The court also heard the Throsby woman had made efforts to rehabilitate herself, which included starting to pay "significant" reparations to the court for distribution to her victims.

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A prosecutor said Blinksell had engaged in a "pattern of behaviour" and her crimes involved planning, resulting in a "significant impact on the victims".

Blinksell was the founder of a Canberra charity called Homeless Care Packs, which the court previously heard had shut down when her reputation was "decimated" by the revelation she had been charged with the unrelated phone frauds.

Magistrate Glenn Theakston said on Thursday that he had initially been inclined to impose a sentence of imprisonment.

He changed his mind after hearing submissions and instead sentenced Blinksell to an 18-month good behaviour order, with 12 months of supervision that will include regular drug tests.

Mr Theakston noted she had already forked out $830 in reparations, and ordered that she continue providing $150 per fortnight until the victims had been repaid the combined $3299 their phones were worth.

The magistrate said the good behaviour order may seem "light", but he thought it was "the best way to get the money back to the victims".

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