A Leeds man conned people out of thousands of pounds worth of jewellery in a sophisticated scam using a phone app.
Casey Robinson, 20, used two fake Facebook profiles to message people advertising jewellery for sale on Facebook Marketplace. When he met with the people, he claimed to have used a mobile banking app to transfer the money they had agreed on - but it never arrived.
Leeds Crown Court heard on Wednesday that he first messaged a woman under the name Elliott West on Facebook after she advertised a gold bracelet for sale for £1,250. The pair agreed on a price of £1,220 before meeting at the Golden Lion pub in Beeston on November 7 last year. Robinson took another man with him.
Prosecutor Ella Embleton said: "She gave her [bank] details to him and he said he was with Metrobank and said he had made the transfer over his mobile phone. She stated that he showed her the money had left his account."
Robinson, of Playground, New Farnley, later left the pub and the woman reported the matter to police when she saw she had not received the money. Just weeks later on November 24, Robinson used the same Facebook profile to enquire with a woman about a 9 caret gold bracelet which had been put on the site for a price of £650.
Ms Embleton told the court: "At around 12.30pm that day the profile contacted her saying he was outside her work address and she took a friend to meet him."
Robinson used the same technique - showing the woman on an app that he had transferred the money but after not receiving it, the woman went back inside and he said he was on the phone to the bank and said the money had gone through. The prosecutor said: "She called her boyfriend for advice and he said to give it [the bracelet] as he had provided an address in Pudsey. Later that day she still hadn't got the money as agreed and asked him to return the bracelet but he failed to attend at the address as had been agreed."
The woman conducted her own research and found his vehicle which had been put online for sale by a Casey Robinson.
Two days later, the court heard, Robinson targeted a woman advertising a selection of jewellery for sale for £3,000 and messaged her on the profile, asking if she would accept £2,900 which she agreed. On November 25, he went to her house and again showed on his phone the money had been transferred. When the woman checked her account and found it had not been received, Robinson again claimed to have called his bank and the person on the other end said the money had been transferred.
The woman called her bank who told her it could take 24 hours for it to be transferred. Ms Embleton said: "When she took a photograph of the defendant he became aggressive towards her and eventually the parties agreed to him taking half the jewellery and coming back for the rest when she got the money. She never received any money and the defendant made several excuses as to why it had not been received. She then saw a post from the second complainant and described the same had taken place to her."
Robinson's fourth and last scam took place in February this year when he targeted a man selling a Rolex. This time, however, he used the name Adam Fraser but the same technique. When the man enquired with his bank, he was told there could be a delay due to the amount of money involved. He told Robinson he would wait until the money arrived, but he said he was "£10,000 down and wouldn't leave without the watch."
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The men signed a contract stating Adam Fraser would pay for the watch should the bank transfer not be successful and he left with it. The next day, the man called his bank and was wrongly told the payment was pending but he never received the money. He reported the crime to the police and forensic examination of items - including a note and cigarette butt - left at his home by Robinson confirmed it was his DNA profile.
He was charged and went on to plead guilty to four counts of fraud by false representation. He had previous convictions for theft and making off without payment - both committed when he was a youth.
A probation officer who undertook a stand down report said the dad-of-two is now settled in a job and was struggling to find employment at the time of the offending. He said he helps to care for his father and lives with him.
Mitigating, Jessica Heggie, told the court Robinson "made no attempt to conceal his identity." She added: "This was a young 20-year-old man with a limited history of convictions all committed before he was 15-years-old."
His Honour Judge Batiste handed Robinson a nine-month sentence suspended for two years. He said the estimated value of the items was between £14,000 and £15,000. He said: "It is clear others were involved but you took a leading role and I'm satisfied received the lion's share of any profit. There was a significant degree of sophistication in what was taking place."
Robinson must complete 20 days rehabilitation activity requirement and 180 hours of unpaid work.
