Yorkshire man jailed after selling digital train tickets to football fans and then applying for a refund

Paul James King, from Leeds, bought digital tickets that he sold on to fellow football fans, he would then apply for refunds both before and after the tickets were used.

The 35-year-old bought more than £4,000 worth of tickets between November 2021 and May 2022, of which £3,246 worth were refunded but used for travel.

LNER staff became suspicious of the levels of refunds requested by King, as well as the elaborate reasons he provided, such as repeatedly family illnesses. His case was referred to LNER’s frud investigations team.

Following an investigation by LNER staff and British Transport Police, King was charged with Section 7 Fraud offence – making or supplying articles for use in frauds.

He later altered a letter from the NHS to make it look as if he was fit to undertake unpaid work in an attempt to influence the judge’s sentencing options. But when he ruse was discovered, he was also charged with perverting the course of justice.

York Crown Court heard King had previous convictions for fraud which were deemed an aggravating factor.

Paul Larder, Head of Risk and Assurance at LNER, said: “This case should be a warning to anyone thinking about defrauding the railway. This cheat was spotted by colleagues in our customer contact centre, but on top of that we’re also now using AI to look for unusual patterns in our refunds.

"The defendant in this case was selling cheap tickets to fellow football fans – the clear advice is to only buy tickets from reputable outlets or direct from LNER.”