08/12/2009 - Man fined over TV-inspired scam
Several restaurants lost hundreds of pounds in a dry-cleaning scam orchestrated by a man who picked up the trick from the television programme The Real Hustle.
Maidstone Magistrates' Court fined Carl Nevill, from Croydon, Surrey, £200 after he pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud by false representation and asked for another four offences to lie on file.
Police said the 23-year-old approached leading restaurants and claimed that a waiter had spilt wine on him.
He later emailed them a dry cleaning receipt of £9 that he would have downloaded from the internet and asked for reimbursement. After receiving the cheques he would alter the sum by adding a zero.
He was caught as staff at a shop in Maidstone, Kent, grew suspicious when he tried to cash four cheques there.
Pc Steve Hobbs, of Kent Police, said: "Although people may be tempted to try out the cons portrayed on programmes like The Real Hustle, they have to remember there are also real consequences.
"Unlike the television hustlers, real con artists can cause untold misery and deserve to be dealt with accordingly."
Copyright © Press Association 2009
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