Men who stole thousands from small businesses in card machine scam sentenced

Two men who stole thousands of pounds from small businesses by using their card machines to make refunds rather than take payment have been sentenced.

Abdullah Said-Ahmed, 29 and Tahir Mohammed, 30, both of Brent, London, told shop workers they needed to enter their pin into card terminals when they were asked to pay for goods.

However, instead of entering a pin, they used a card to authorise refunds to several different bank accounts.

The pair admitted two counts of conspiring to commit fraud and were sentenced at Bristol Crown Court last week.

Said-Ahmed was given a 14-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months and must carry out 150 hours of unpaid work while Mohammed was jailed for 23 months, suspended for 18 months and must do 200 hours of unpaid work.

A third man also pleaded guilty to the same offences but failed to attend court for sentencing.

A warrant has since been issued for the arrest of Omar Said-Baker, 30, also of Brent, London.

The three men were caught after police stopped a car using false number plates on the M4.

After carrying out a search of the vehicle, officers found a large quantity of expensive clothing and multiple credit and debit cards, four of these were in Said-Baker’s name.

Further enquiries linked the three men to the refund scam and CCTV was recovered which showed how at least one of the men would distract the shop worker while the refunds were carried out.

A number of small independent business were targeted between February and March 2019 around Cabot Circus and the surrounding area with the men stealing thousands of pounds.

Detective Sergeant Louise Sinclair, from our Complex Fraud Team, said: “These three men brazenly stole thousands of pounds from small shops and cafés.

“On one occasion, they refunded more than £5,000 from an independent café.

“I hope this investigation reassures small business owners that no matter how complex an investigation might be, we will do everything we can to ensure those who harm people’s livelihoods will be held to account.

“I also hope this case reminds shop workers of the need to be vigilant, to not allow customers to handle PDQ machines and the importance of reporting suspicious behaviour or criminality to us.”