Cloned card fraudster spared more jail time
A FRAUDSTER who used a cloned card to pay for his shopping has avoided jail – despite committing identical offences around the country.
Kyle Crinion, from Oldham, handed over the Barclays bank card to pay for DVDs at the Co-op in Marsh, Huddersfield.
Yesterday it was revealed that the 29-year-old previously received jail terms for the same offences in Bolton, Stockport and Derbyshire. But he avoided jail at Kirklees magistrates’ court after satisfying a district judge that he had not broken the law for over a year.
Crinion pleaded guilty to committing fraud by false representation and possession of an article for use in connection with a fraud.
The court was told that he attempted to use the cloned card at the Reed Street store on April 6 last year.
Crinion handed it over to a cashier to pay for some DVDs but the card didn’t have a chip and pin facility, prosecutor Jill Seddon said.
She told the court: “He was seen to lean over the counter to type the numbers in himself. This was seen by the security officer who was not happy with the transaction. Crinion ran from the store. However, the security officer was able to follow and detain him after he tripped over in his attempt to get away.”
The cloned card was in another surname and had the account number of another man.
Crinion, of Lime Green Road, Oldham, had denied the charges but changed his plea to guilty when he was due to stand trial.
The court was told that he was jailed for one month following a fraud conviction at Bolton magistrates court in 2012.
The following year Stockport magistrates also jailed him for fraud and these offences were ‘identical and involving cloned cards and attempts to put numbers into the till,’ Mrs Seddon said.
In February 2016, Crinion was again jailed by Derbyshire magistrates for fraud and jailed for 16 weeks. He was released weeks before he committed the new offences in Huddersfield and subject to post-sentence supervision at the time.
Crinion claimed that he was struggling for cash and committed the offences to pay off a drug debt.
He said he was driven to the town and ordered to use the cloned card and was not responsible for sourcing it. Deputy District Judge Wajeed Khalil told him: “I’m not going to impose immediate custody to give you the chance to make progress and remain offence free.”
Crinion was instead sentenced to a 26-week suspended prison sentence and ordered to complete 20 days of rehabilitation activities.
He must pay £115 court costs and £115 victim surcharge and the cloned card will be forfeited and destroyed.