Ticket Forger Ordered To Repay £17k

A train fare dodger who parked in executive car parks and enjoyed first class travel using DIY fake tickets has been ordered to repay more than £17,000.

Mark Mason, 44, travelled around the country with the the rail tickets he produced at home with a printer and photographic paper.

But police caught up with him when train staff noticed discrepancies on his tickets including missing dates and emblems.

A search of the fraudster's home led to the discovery of his forging apparatus including genuine tickets, glossy photographic paper, computers and printers, as well as craft knives, scissors and a cutting board.

Now he has been ordered to pay back £17,884 over six months after he was convicted of fraud charges relating to 85 tickets used over a period of 21 months.

At a proceeds of crime hearing Mason, a contract worker, was told failure to pay will result in a default sentence of 12 months in prison.

Detective Constable David Williams, a financial investigator said: "This sentence sends a clear message to anyone thinking of trying to evade payment of train fares and parking that it really isn't worth it."

Mason, of Doncaster, South Yorks, was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for two years.

He has also been ordered to carry out 240 hours unpaid work and a 12-day restorative justice course at Sheffield Crown Court.

The British Transport Police investigation began in autumn 2013 when East Coast Trains station support staff saw Mason's black Vauxhall Meriva car on several occasions in the Executive Car Park at Doncaster train station.

Various ticket discrepancies were noted including an expired ticket and tickets with wrong colours, no date and time printed, incorrect emblems and incorrect value paid.

BTP was informed and in December an officer spotted the car and approached Mason when he returned to his vehicle later that day.

He was arrested on suspicion of fraud offences and a search of the car revealed 10 further tickets believed to have been forged.

Forensic examination of the computer devices found at his home revealed Mason had used the computers to produce forged travel and parking tickets.

The offences were committed between March 24, 2011, and December 19, 2013.

Culled From Mirror