Two brothers who stole £15,000 from gaming machines over the course of nine months appeared shocked at their sentences.
Michael Shaw, 38, and Paul Shaw, 39, both of Aylward Place, Bootle, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday. Ian Harris, prosecuting, explained the brothers’ committed 21 offences of fraud targeting gaming machines in pubs and bookies between September 5, 2017, and May 31, 2018.
Mr Harris said: “The fraud was simple in operation but difficult to detect. An adapted banknote, usually to the value of £20, was used to create fraudulent credits on fixed odds gaming machines in bookmakers and pubs.”
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He detailed the men used a modified and laminated £20 note with small parts of it cut away, which they inserted into gaming machines. Mr Harris continued: “However, the note had a handle attached to two corners which allowed it to be withdrawn once the machine had registered the £20 credit.
“By extracting the note, it could not be deposited in the cash collection by the machine.” He said the two men played low value games to build the credit in the machine and then exchange the voucher printed off for cash at the counter.
Paul Shaw would also sometimes take a winning payout slip from one machine and use that value on a separate machine which could then be cashed. Mr Harris detailed that only the two defendants were identified using CCTV footage, but it was clear other accomplices shielded the Shaw's from the view of the staff and cameras.
In total, the two men stole £15258.90. The prosecutor said the brothers targeted various locations including a pub with a gaming machine in Otterspool, South Liverpool, William Hill in West Derby, the Flute pub on Hardman Street, the Slug and Lettuce on North John Street and the Paddy Power on Richmond Street.
Offences also took place in Birkenhead, Arrowe Park, Wallasey, Formby, Southport and Birkdale. Both men were interviewed in January and April 2018 and made no admissions, and were released under investigation.
The delay in their appearance in court was due to police staff shortages. Mr Harris then detailed that hours after he left court after pleading guilty, Michael Shaw streamed a TikTok live bragging about his crime to over 70,000 followers.
Mr Harris said: “Within hours of his guilty plea, he boasted of his crime on social media and was quoted in the Liverpool Echo, and among other things he said ‘I have no shame’. He boasted to hundreds of people on social media that he “beat the bookies” hours after appearing in court.”
The fraudster referred to himself as the “bookies' fraudster”, said “what will be will be”, and bragged that he would not bring a bag with him for his next appearance at court. He also told his Instagram followers he “wasn’t boasting, he was owning it”, claimed the fraud “wasn’t a bad crime” and said “the bookies rob us”.
When hearing this part of the prosecution, Michael Shaw repeatedly shook his head, put his hand to his face, and looked around at his partner who was seated at the back of the court.
Paul Shaw failed to appear at his first plea hearing on November 30, 2022, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Two days later, on December 1, he was remanded into custody and given seven days imprisonment. On February 15, both men pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.
There were 16 more counts of fraud that Michael Shaw committed throughout 2018 in areas outside of Merseyside, taken into account in his sentencing. Mr Harris detailed that Michael Shaw committed similar offences at several William Hill and Paddy Power bookies, in Birmingham, Middlesbrough, Derby, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Wales and more.
Paul Shaw has 51 previous convictions for 74 offences, many of which were related to dishonesty and most recently, two charges relating to domestic violence. Michael Shaw has 20 previous convictions for 30 offences, including one count of possession of an offensive weapon, five relating to breaches of court orders, and six dishonesty convictions.
Lloyd Morgan, defending Paul Shaw, said his client did have remorse for his crime, despite conclusions made by the prosecution service that he did not. Charles Lander, defending Michael Shaw, said he understood his client was now in a more difficult position, because of his “drunken rants”.
He said: “My client understands that the remorse he has displayed has been completely undermined by what he did on TikTok. In that TikTok, he did say ‘I'm sorry I done it, and I should never have done it. If I could go back in time’.
“He apologises profusely for those comments, and when it was brought to my attention the next morning, he immediately asked me how he could go about apologising.” Mr Lander then detailed that his client has been living “a better way of life” shown to him by his partner, in the years since this offending.
He also detailed the fraudster had been diagnosed with bipolar and anxiety. In sentencing, Judge Garrett Byrne said: “It was a well planned and thought out fraud and a well planned course of conduct over a prolonged course of time”.
Paul Shaw was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment. Addressing Michael Shaw, Judge Byrne said: “Upon leaving court you went on social media and posted what I understand to be a live hour long TikTok show.
“This was reported by the Liverpool Echo and it would have been seen by many people as I understand you have over 70,000 followers. It completely undermines the statements of remorse that you make now.
“The court must consider not what a man says but what a man does. It undermines that you were living a better life completely and shows an utter lack of remorse and lack of understanding of the harm that this offending causes to businesses.”
Judge Byrne sentenced Michael Shaw to 16 months imprisonment. After he was sentenced, he put his head in his hands and shook his head, before turning to his partner seated at the back of the court and saying “16 months”.
During proceedings, he repeatedly buried his head in his hands and looked back at his partner. Upon hearing his brother’s sentence, Paul Shaw said: “How the f**k? That is bulls**t”, and looked in disbelief.
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