Let that be a lesson to you Jim
A fraudster who made thousands of pounds selling football tickets he did not have on social media has been jailed for two years and 11 months.
Hussayn Hirani, 24, would take images of real football tickets posted by others on social media, and advertise them for sale online.
Once sold, victims would be asked to make payment into bank accounts belonging to friends and associates of Hirani. The cash would be then be withdrawn at a later date and handed back to him.
No tickets were ever sent to the buyers.
He defrauded his victims out of more than £9,000 over the course of his offending.
Throughout the investigation detectives discovered Hirani also sold fake Wimbledon and concert tickets.
Hirani, of Eagle Drive, Colindale, pleaded guilty to 28 counts of fraud by false representation at Harrow Crown Court on Thursday, 1 March.
The offences were committed between August 2016 and October 2017.
Hirani was originally charged with three counts of fraud by false representation, but as the result of a lengthy investigation carried out by the Met’s Fraud and Linked Crime Online unit and Action Fraud, 26 further charges were made.
Hirani was handed 25 months’ imprisonment for the offending between August 2016 and October 2017. However, he was previously arrested and convicted for the same offence in June 2016 and June 2017 and was handed a suspended sentence on both occasions.
Her Honorable Judge Dean reviewed Hirani’s previous offending and as a result handed him an additional 10 months’ imprisonment – a total of 35 months’ imprisonment.
Detective Constable Paul Allgood (of course he’s a copper) said: “This was a lengthy and complex investigation, involving dozens of victims. Hirani betrayed the trust of all of these people and made a living out of lying. He arranged for the profit he made from these crimes to go into the bank accounts of his friends and associates in order to distance himself from the offending.
“FALCON and Action Fraud worked in a close partnership to bring Hirani to justice. I would strongly discourage members of the public from allowing anyone to access or use their bank accounts. You should never disclose personal bank details unless for a legitimate purpose, to an authorised individual or organisation. I would also encourage the public to take extra care when purchasing goods through social media.”
