CASEY ANTHONY PLEADS GUILTY

Accused murder mom Casey Anthony pleads guilty to 13 counts at a hearing.

Casey was at a check fraud case, not the trial for her murdered daughter Caylee Anthony.

Anthony waived the right to a trial when she made her plea in the wild cash checking spree fraud case. 

Anthony admitted stealing a checkbook from a friend, Amy Huizenga, and writing four checks worth nearly $650.

Surveillance video  caught her at local Orlando stores and banks spending the stolen checks while the search for the missing Caylee was underway.

In a rare moment, a seemingly repentant Anthony, eyes welling with tears, addressed the court.

"I'm sorry for what I did. I'd like to sincerely apologize to Amy. I wish I would have been a better friend," she said.

Judge Stan Strickland sentenced the 23-year-old mother to jail time already  served and another $5,517.75 in court costs. He also adjudicated Anthony's guilty plea on six of the fraud counts.

As The ENQUIRER reported previously in a series of investigative reports, Casey Anthony has been accused of murder of her daughter, Caylee Anthony, 2, whose body was found in a wooded area near the family's home in December 2008.

She remains in Orange County Jail on no bond, awaiting trial.