East Midlands Railway among rail companies swindled by fraudster
East Midlands Railway[1] was among the rail companies a fraudster scammed enabling him to pocket £9,000 from an elaborate scheme designed to abuse the system that offers refunds to passengers affected by genuine train delays.
Sadeddine Ramdane, 34, narrowly avoided jail when he appeared at Manchester Crown Court after being part of what was labelled a “very sophisticated” racket. After fraudulently purchasing train tickets, Ramdane then claimed for refunds using the scheme, often selecting long journeys to maximise the scam, the MEN reports.[2][3]
The court was told that Ramdane became involved in the fraud due to “financial difficulties”. “You describe yourself as ashamed, and so you should be,” the judge said, warning Ramdane that he would have been jailed had the case been brought to court sooner.
Prosecutors told how in March 2017, the Trainline website[4] became aware of a pattern of fraud where genuine payment details were being used fraudulently to purchase tickets, with just under £22,000 worth of tickets being bought by Ramdane in this way.
Some of the tickets were posted to his home and others were collected from Mauldeth Road train station in Burnage, near where he was living at the time. Ramdane then made money by abusing the delay refund schemes operated by three rail companies, London North Eastern, Virgin, now Avanti, and also East Midlands Railway[6].
Some of the refund claims included “unusually long” journeys in order to “maximise” the value of the fraud, prosecutor Ben Lawrence said. The money paid out by the train companies was then diverted into various PayPal accounts controlled by Ramdane, using different identities.
It was also funnelled into third party bank accounts which he operated, and ultimately spent on fast food, clothes and electronics, Mr Lawrence said. Prosecutors said Ramdane profited to the tune of around £9,000 from the scheme.
They allege that another man who has not been located originally set up the scam, before handing it over to Ramdane to continue for a five month period before he was caught. When officers raided Ramdane’s home in 2018 they seized a “vast” number of items, including 10 phones and laptops with a device which had access to the dark web.
Messages recovered also revealed that Ramdane had employed another fraudster to make electronic alterations to tickets to assist the scam. Defending, Simeon Evans said Ramdane had not come up with the fraud, and it had been “handed to him on a plate”.
He said the defendant has now moved to London with his wife and three children, and planned to start a legitimate business. Mr Evans said sending Ramdane to jail would have a “devastating” effect on his family, given he is the sole breadwinner.
The judge, Recorder Peter Horgan, did not send Ramdane to prison, but added that he would not have hesitated to had the case come to the courts sooner. “Clearly you were involved in very sophisticated operation,” the judge said.
“If this case would have come before me within months of it being occasioned back in 2018 or early 2019, I would simply have sent you to prison, given the sophisticated nature of this offence. But I can’t simply close my eyes to the fact that five years have elapsed since, and you haven’t been in trouble.”
Prosecutors said the case took time to reach the courts because of the “vast” amount of evidence which had to be analysed. Ramdane, formerly of Radcliffe, Bury, pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud and one count of possessing articles for use in fraud.
He was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to complete 300 hours of unpaid work.
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References
- ^ East Midlands Railway (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Manchester Crown Court (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ the MEN reports. (www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk)
- ^ the Trainline website (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Chaddesden dad making nuisance in street caught for drink-driving (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ East Midlands Railway (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ the main Derbyshire Live newsletter here (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)