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IT expert forged railway tickets | IT expert forged railway tickets |
(about 2 hours later) | |
An IT consultant who forged rail tickets saving himself nearly £12,500 in fares has been given a nine-month suspended sentence. | An IT consultant who forged rail tickets saving himself nearly £12,500 in fares has been given a nine-month suspended sentence. |
Jonathan Moore, from Hove, admitted fraud after being caught with a false ticket by an inspector in November. | |
Brighton Crown Court heard the 27-year-old used his computer expertise to design and produce the tickets for trips between East Sussex and London. | Brighton Crown Court heard the 27-year-old used his computer expertise to design and produce the tickets for trips between East Sussex and London. |
Another 11 fake tickets dating back to 2006 were found in a plastic wallet. | Another 11 fake tickets dating back to 2006 were found in a plastic wallet. |
Moore, of Goldstone Villas, was caught during a routine inspection on the Bedford to Brighton service. | |
You did this to save yourself a considerable amount of money Judge Richard Hayward | |
The court heard the inspector noticed subtle differences in the colour and material of his ticket. | The court heard the inspector noticed subtle differences in the colour and material of his ticket. |
On a laptop, later seized from his home, police found designs for more than 70 fake three and six-monthly tickets. | |
In August Moore pleaded guilty to fraud, making 74 forged travel tickets and possessing 11 forged tickets. | |
Defence counsel Martin Cray said Moore, who had no previous convictions, quit his IT job after his employers indicated they would take disciplinary action. | |
He said he could offer no excuse for his client's actions other than to say he was undergoing difficulties both at home and at work. | |
'Sophisticated fraud' | |
In mitigation, Mr Cray said Moore had cooperated to the "fullest possible extent". | |
"He made an initial admission on the train to the officers, then at his home he showed them all the files on his computer." | |
Sentencing him, Judge Richard Hayward described it as a "skilful and sophisticated fraud committed over a long period of time" to save Moore the cost of rail travel. | |
In addition to his suspended prison sentence and the £12,472 he will have to repay, Moore was handed a 240-hour unpaid work order and told to pay £510 costs. | |
Judge Hayward told him: "You are a computer expert who had a good job but you struck upon the idea of using your skills to scan and then produce rail tickets between Brighton and London. | |
"You did this to save yourself a considerable amount of money. | |
"It's very sad that you should use your skills for a fraudulent purpose." |