Sentencing for those involved and found guilty in a fraudulent Liverpool ticket scam through Craigslist will begin on November 12, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Craig O’Donohue, 29, and Paul Murgatroyd, 28, were the masterminds behind the scam. They put up fake tickets to sell on Craigslist with details for a bank transfer then immediately withdraw the money through an ATM.
Their problem, though, was that the frauds would be reported, naturally, and the bank accounts would be closed. So they needed to keep changing accounts.
Enter Daniel Kercher, 19, James Clarke, 18, and James Wright, 19. They allowed their bank accounts to be used and handed the money for O’Donohue and Murgatroyd.
The trio of teens were found guilty by Liverpool Crown Court after attempting to plead that they had no knowledge of wrongdoing, claiming their pin numbers were stolen.
Arthur Gibson of the prosecution, said:
The fraud was quite straightforward. Tickets would be advertised on Craigslist. A customer would contact the number on the website and be given the bank details into which the price of the tickets was to be paid.
The only problem was that obviously sooner or later one or more of the customers would report the fraud, as a result of which the bank would be notified and the bank account closed.
O’Donohue and Murgatroyd’s homes were searched, per Gibson, and Merseyside police found “blank pro forma tickets belonging to LFC, printers and other items used in the fraud.”
