Conwoman donned hijab for £3,000 fraud bid

A FRAUDSTER wore a hijab as a disguise as she tried to withdraw £3,000 in cash from a building society.

Sandra Simms used a card which had been swiped from a church-goer the previous day.

The 53-year-old drug addict was successful in her first attempt to take out £500 from the West Bromwich Building Society in Handsworth.

But she was rumbled when she returned 24 hours later and tried to withdraw a further £2,500 at the Soho Road branch.

Police arrested her and found she was carrying a Stanley blade.

Simms, of Hamstead Road, Handsworth, failed to turn up to her trial and was found guilty in her absence of two counts of fraud and one offence of possession of a bladed article in public.

She admitted two counts of failure to surrender to court and was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court to 12 months in prison.

The victim was at a church on April 25 last year when a male stole her handbag.

Judge Richard Bond said: “To use a colloquialism, her card was extremely hot. It ended up in your possession. You wore a hijab. I have no doubt although it didn’t disguise your facial features you wore it as a disguise so it was less likely you would be caught.”

When Simms took out the initial £500 she asked how much the maximum withdrawal limit was and returned the next day to try to top up her ill-gotten gains to £3,000.

But when she was asked for proof of identification she could only present the bank card and cheque book, prompting staff to call police.

The court heard she had previously committed 73 offences including multiple frauds, thefts and shop-lifting as well as carrying a knife.

Judge Bond said: “She knows what she is. She is someone addicted to drugs for a long time. Much of her offending is acquisitive. But I don’t like the fact she is walking around in public with a Stanley knife.”

He added Simms had a ‘‘dreadful history of dishonesty’’ and was only remorseful for the fact she was caught.

Chloe Ashley, defending, said: “She has a well-established addiction which has motivated her offending.”