A gambling and drug addict who stole a former in-law's currency collection by claiming she had a buyer willing to offer $2 million has admitted to her offending. A court heard Karen Ann Buovac was always going to get caught for her "unsophisticated" offending, which targeted a Wodonga collector with coins dating back to ancient Rome and the BC era. Buovac is the cousin of the victim's former wife, and the pair used to live on the same street. Buovac attended the man's William Street home in Wodonga on February 5 this year to sell Lego to the man's daughter. Her attention was drawn to a tin with about $8000 in cash and the 54-year-old asked about its contents. The man explained his interest in rare and collectable coins and showed his collection. Buovac claimed she knew a "very wealthy" man in Sydney who could be interested in the items. The victim said his collection was worth well over $2 million, but he would sell it for $2 million. Buovac later said the fictional man, "Ron", would buy it all and would give a $1 million deposit, then transfer the remaining $1 million. She went to the man's home with a pink suitcase on February 7, under the guise she would take the coins and notes to the supposed buyer. The 54-year-old supplied a screenshot of a false bank transfer and showed a text on her phone showing a plane ticket had been bought. Part of the collection was handed over and the suitcase double padlocked. The man continued to check his account for the funds, which never came, and tried to call his former relative, but she didn't answer. Buovac sent a text message on February 9 saying "Ron" had suffered a heart attack. Buovac tried to get further coins, which were supposed to be supplied after the further $1 million transfer, from the victim on February 14. She attended the home and stole various coins on February 17. Police searched her Mann Street home on February 23, and notebooks gave details on the stolen coins and notes being on-sold. A buyer in Greenvale paid $900 for seven or eight banknotes on February 10, a coin was sold to Wodonga Cash Converters for $200 on February 13 and a buyer paid $2000 for notes on February 17. Buovac went to an expo in Melbourne on February 18 and 19 where buyers paid $2150, $6400 and $4500 for various items. Police were unable to track down all of the people who had bought the stolen goods, and were unable to prove the exact value of the collection that was stolen. The court had previously heard the items were worth $650,000, but the collection was never evaluated and the value could not be pinned down. Buovac has previously scammed others, including a former partner, with false claims she had cancer. The Wodonga court heard the fact the victim was her cousin's ex-husband aggravated the offending. The court heard Buovac had significant ice and gambling addictions and owed people money. Her lawyer said while the offending was planned, it was unsophisticated. She had served 117 days on remand before being released on bail. The 54-year-old will be sentenced on March 20 and is banned from attending any gaming venues while on bail.