One Way NOT To Make A Million

[stereoman]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005470791,00.html

Teen fraudster is jailed By PETE BELL Sun Online

A TEENAGE fraudster was today jailed for forging sports memorabilia and selling it to gullible fans on the internet.

Robert Housden, 19, was locked-up for 16 months for his scam. He used online auction site eBay to con sports-mad punters.

He also received an Anti-Social Behaviour Order banning him from trading on internet sale sites or setting up internet gambling accounts for five years.

Housden, of Shepshed, Leicestershire, admitted conning at least 73 people of a total of around £30,000 with his scam.

His crooked sales included a pair of boots with a fake David Beckham autograph and a Brazil shirt with the false signatures of World Cup stars Pele, Zico and Ronaldo.

The teenager, who has an addiction to gambling, pleaded guilty to 16 counts of deception at a previous hearing and asked for a further 57 similar matters to be taken into account.

Sentencing Housden at Birmingham Crown Court, Judge Ian Collis said: "I have come to the view that this was a very calculated fraud on people all over the world.

"It is clear you are a very clever young man but you’ve used your knowledge to dishonest means.

"In my view, these offences are so serious that only a custodial sentence is appropriate and right."

Among his many deceptions, Housden bought Manchester United football shirts from a local sports shop and signed the names of the players himself using a marker pen before sending them to successful bidders.

His illegal money-spinner was uncovered after one sports memorabilia collector spotted a forgery.

Simon Shakeshaft, from Shrewsbury, bought a "signed" Manchester United shirt off the defendant to raise cash for Everyman, a charity set up to raise awareness about cancer among men.

Mr Shakeshaft said: "It was not the same as the picture advertising it. It was a genuine shirt but there was no attempt to have proper signatures on it. It was just scribbles."

Mr Shakeshaft, who has survived testicular cancer, paid £201.01 for the shirt and had hoped to auction it himself to raise £500.

After failing to get a refund off Housden, he made a complaint to Shropshire Trading Standards who turned to probably the only men able to prove the autographs were fake - Manchester United’s manager and team.

Officers asked Sir Alex and players Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and captain Roy Keane to sign a genuine shirt.

Once the forgery was proven, the matter was handed over to police, who traced the scam to Leicestershire.

Other fake items sold by the defendant included a shirt signed by the England rugby team and a framed montage picture of the 1966 England World Cup-winning football team.

During the period the offences were committed, Housden is thought to have gambled £65,000 at bookmakers William Hill.

In mitigation, Jason Mansell, defending, said his client had begun selling the fraudulent items to pay off debts.

He said the teenager left school with 10 GCSEs and tried to set up his own legitimate on-line business - but soon found himself owing money to friends.

Mr Mansell said: "Mr Housden stands before you with an addiction to gambling.

That doesn’t excuse his behaviour but addictions are illnesses which need to be fed or they need to be treated.

"It is this addiction which has led him to this position from a very good
start."

Housden also admitted withdrawing £4,500 from a friend’s bank account and was arrested again in September 10 while on bail for setting up three fraudulent accounts on an internet gambling site.

The teenager said he had kept details of other people's credit cards from from previous eBay sales and used them to fund transactions between these accounts totalling £2,200.

He was also caught trying to fraudulently sell £3,300 worth of mobile phones on the same auction site.

Judge Collis said: "These sports goods were bought by people who were extremely interested in this sort of memorabilia, often people with little money themselves but who wanted to spend this because it was their passion in life.

"Systems like eBay and other internet trading systems which allow these things to be sold are systems that are based upon a trust

"To that extent what you do when you sell things fraudulently is break the trust of the systems."

Housden, whose parents were in court, stood motionless in the dock with his hands clasped in front of him throughout the hearing.

[MickeyPaul]

Gambling eh? It gets blamed for everything. Don't forget to click that Will Hills link in the article kids.

I bet there are a few Mr I jokes coming too. :loon

[Kiko]

When you think about it though it is very simple and easy to forge it and go and flog it on that ebay site to be fair.

Found it rather funny when it mentioned his gambling. He must of been following Swoops tips and lost all his money

I don't think i could ever stoop this low to forging football shirts etc, or even stealing to continue my gambling.

What about you guys? Do you think if in desperation who could commit a sin just to get a bet on?

My gambling actually has really calmed down in recent weeks to be fair. I would rather post about on here or play a game etc or spend time with girlfriend and friends than gamble at the minute to be honest.

[Burt Saddo]

He got caught out because he tried to flog off Frank Bruno's autograph and everyone knows that the thick fcuker don't know how to spell yet.

[GETT1NLOTS]

He just should have marked it with an X

[kompressaur]

I first of all thought 'the wee shite' then i thought 'nah i suppose i'd have done it at his age if i could'. Oh he's 19. A bit naughty isnt it. Downright fraud. I was trying to work a scam to sell rare records in Record Collector magazine and was gonna do a runner with the money. I thought i could get £100,00 for it. I never done it so i must be a lovely person instead.

Cheers stereoman i enjoyed that.

[stereoman]

In one way, I feel sorry for him but in another, I don't because he was a crap gambler. I'm in the middle of a bad run but I don't go the bank and get loans!

==========

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005550070,00.html

Bank funded bet addict By CHARLES RAE



A COUPLE were ignored when they begged banks to stop lending their son cash as he racked up £80,000 of gambling debts.

Anne and Robert Arnold found Tom, 22, had been given a £5,000 home improvement loan to feed his addiction in spite of the plea.

And Tom got the “DIY” cash from Lloyds TSB even though he still lives with his parents.

Tom was 18 and already owed £10,000 when he secretly started gambling on the internet while on a £15,000 clerk’s salary.

Anne, 52, found out when he was £20,000 in debt. She bailed him out and got a promise from Lloyds that they would tip her off if he sank into financial strife again.

But her son continued betting and the banks remained silent until the lad was forced to tell his parents.

This time cabbie Robert, 48, remortgaged their home with Lloyds TSB for £42,000 to cover what he owed.

The couple face hefty repayments into old age and could lose their home. Anne isn’t working because of a bad back.

But Tom still continued to gamble and is now another £38,000 in debt, which his parents are refusing to cover.

Last night Robert, of Wimbledon South London, said: “It’s disgusting. I’ve banked with Lloyds for 30 years. The bank agreed it would not lend him money but in less than a year they have done the same again.”

The Arnolds are asking Tom, who is trying to quit gambling, to go bankrupt. Lloyds TSB blamed the loan on a database error and offered a £2,750 goodwill payment.

The Arnolds rejected it. Lloyds said they did not have Tom’s consent to discuss his finances.

[kompressaur]

Fcuk i wish he'd joined his online bookie through TDP Stereoman and i wouldnt have to leave the house for a while

You reckon it could have been someone from TDP?

[kompressaur]

fcuk just reading that the daft big bastard still went down the same road after his maw and dad had sorted it out to great cost. What a wanker

[kompressaur]

You reckon it could have been someone from TDP?

[fasteddy]

Parents are muppets...look at the cunt..best thing for him would be 2 years tretch in jail..lose the weight, sort out any sexual identity confusion pretty fast, and maybe get a better idea on how to bet from all the wise old lags.....advertise it for gods sake...
The Priory???...6 months in Barlinnie if you're really serious 'celeb junkie'!!

[Kiko]

This is a fantastic marketing chance for us Komp.

I think we should go about looking for people like this and offer them quality tips for signing up through our links.

About who it could be? Well who's left here and not returned?

KK Ghost is my contender i reckon

[kompressaur]

He's Italian Kiko i think. I totally agree about getting some idiots to sign up through TDP links Kiko and we;ll have game servers and download areas etc all hosted nice and sweet.

Calling some punters idiots aint gonna help the case mind. Actually Kiko how about reverse marketting where we encouage people to get into debt etc and do sinmilar things to that fella and then when we all end up in court we say 'The Daily Punt told me to do it' and we'd get some great advertising. Right who's first?

[stereoman]

The desperation of some people is immense. A foreign one this time:

http://news.scotsman.com/internation...?id=2325562005

Man 'put fingers on train line for insurance pay-out' MARGARET NEIGHBOUR

A MAN put his hands under a train so his fingers would be severed and he could collect an insurance pay-out, prosecutors in Austria have alleged.

The 35-year-old from the town of St Johann, whose name was not released in line with Austrian privacy laws, is being tried on federal charges of insurance fraud stemming from claims filed in November 2003.

The suspect, a former false fingernail designer, told police he was riding his bicycle when he lost control and rolled down an embankment on to rail tracks just as a train was passing. He lost a thumb on one hand and an index finger and a pinky on the other.

Investigators were suspicious when they found the man took out a £700,000 insurance policy a few months earlier.

State attorney Elvira Gonschorowski-Zehentner said prosecutors believed the man cut off his own fingers in an attempt to cash in.

But the man's lawyer, Karl Wampl, dismissed as outlandish the idea that he would intentionally have mutilated himself in that way, arguing he could have used a power saw rather than risk death.

If convicted, he may face ten years' jail.

[PTDSEI]

Originally Posted by stereoman

The suspect, a former false fingernail designer,

Puff