A persistent fare dodger has been slapped with a hefty fine in court after he avoided correct train fares for almost a year.
Emir Allen was fined almost £6,000 after a Chiltern Railways Fraud Unit investigation exposed his fare-dodging tactics.
He admitted avoiding the correct rail fares on 119 occasions between May 2022 and March 2023.
After pleading guilty, the High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court fined him at a hearing on September 6, which he did not attend.
Mr Allen was ordered to pay a fine of £1,885, prosecution costs £185, investigation costs of £750, compensation amounting to £2,964.20 plus a victim surcharge of £188, making the total to pay £5,972.20.
How he was caught
Mr Allen purchased short tickets between Sudbury and Harrow road to London Marylebone, but he would only buy the correct ticket when he saw revenue protection staff checking tickets on-board the train.
This kind of fare evasion takes money of the railway while punishing passengers, who buy correct tickets, Chiltern Railways said.
On more than one occasion after he was stopped and questioned, Mr Allen refused to give his name and address.
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To avoid detection, he used aliases when purchasing tickets and he withheld personal details from retailers where possible, the investigation revealed.
CCTV footage from different dates eventually confirmed that Mr Allen was indeed the person who had travelled on the days in question.
Despite his best efforts to fly under the radar, further enquiries by the Fraud Unit uncovered a digital data linking Mr Allen to the ticket purchases. He had also requested to have his personal data deleted from his Trainline account in March 2023 – immediately after he was stopped and questioned.
Chiltern Railways principal fraud investigator Asif Ismail said: “This was an extremely complex case, and the defendant went to great lengths to cover his tracks in an attempt to avoid liability for the offences committed.”
“The Chiltern Railways Fraud Unit spent a considerable amount of time, including conducting surveillance, to confirm his details and preparing the case for our prosecuting authority, Transport Investigations, to ensure that this was a watertight case and that it met all the evidential criteria.”
He said fare evasion is “not only deceptive but deeply damaging to the railway” and the company will always go after “the strongest penalties.”
Fare evasion means there is less money available for investment to improve the railway for everyone, Chiltern Railways explained.
Many operators are still receiving subsidies from the taxpayer via the government following the Covid-pandemic recovery, meaning the company has “a responsibility to strongly pursue lost funds,” Chiltern Railways said.
www.bucksfreepress.co.uk
it really is a problem and it's good to see justice done.
