Scam artist flogged ‘tickets’ to buy Spice
CONMAN SOLD GIG TICKETS HE NEVER HAD TO PAY OFF DRUG DEBTS
A SCAM artist flogged bogus tickets to the Warehouse Project to fund his Spice habit, a court heard.
Liam Sharp took £150 from two unsuspecting victims after they posted on Facebook asking if anyone had spares for the Manchester gig. The money was transferred but the tickets never arrived.
Sharp, 24, was addicted to Spice at the time and needed the cash to pay off drug debts, his solicitor told magistrates.
It was the second time in a matter of months Sharp was caught duping people for cash on social media. In January 2016, he was given a community order and told to do unpaid work for his part in a fourstrong gang that conned up to 160 users.
The group, from the North East of England, sold festival and gig tickets that they didn’t actually have to punters in various Facebook groups. They chose victims living out of the local area, so that a face-toface meeting couldn’t be arranged for the handover of cash and ‘tickets,’ meaning a bank transfer was the only method of payment. In total, the gang made more than £3,000 from the five-month scheme.
But, just six months after appearing in court in January 2016, Sharp was back up to his old tricks, magistrates were told.
Sharp, of Ambergate Close, Newbiggin Hall, Newcastle, this time targeted two girls who were looking for tickets to a Flume concert at the Warehouse Project.
The Chronicle Live reports how he lied and told them he had tickets for sale and got them to transfer a total of £150 before he blocked them and made-off with the cash, North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court heard on Wednesday.
But he was soon caught after the victims both reported him to Action Fraud and he pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud on Wednesday, January 31.
Clare Irving, prosecuting at North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, said Sharp’s latest offending happened in July 2016.
“One victim said she complained to Action Fraud on July 22 relating to tickets for a Flume concert,” Ms Irving added.
A second girl also reported what had happened to Action Fraud when Sharp took her money and blocked her.
The court was told Sharp had also breached his past community order by not turning up to do unpaid work.
Kash Khan, mitigating, said Sharp was suffering from an addiction to Spice at the time and needed money to settle drug debts. Magistrates gave Sharp another 12-month community order, with a threemonth curfew from 7pm until 7am. They also ordered him to pay £150 compensation.