A couple from Bromley lived a life of luxury with the money they made stealing from gym lockers.
Ashley Singh, 39, and his girlfriend Sophie Bruyea, 20, rifled through people’s lockers while they were working out, stealing bank and SIM cards.
They would then max out the credit cards on expensive tech and designer clothes which they sold on.
The couple used this cash to buy lavish holidays and a pedigree puppy, as well as expensive shoes and bags.
Singh and Bruyea’s spree came to an end after a local officer noticed a pattern and flagged it to economic crime specialists.
A total of 18 victims were identified in London, Sussex, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
A team based in Lewisham traced the couple’s phones, cars and faces on CCTV – linking them to each crime.
On January 27 last year the couple were arrested at Gatwick Airport as they returned from Paris with €2,000 of designer goods.
On Wednesday (January 10) the pair, both from Widmore Road in Bromley, were sentenced after being convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud with a total value of £250,000.
A judge described it as a “wicked conspiracy” after he heard about that some of their victims no longer felt safe around strangers, or had suffered professionally due to the stress.
Singh was sentenced to three years in prison while Bruyea was sentenced to 20 months at a young offenders’ institute, suspended for two years, a rehabilitation programme and 120 hours unpaid work.
DC Luis Da Silva, from the Met’s economic crime team that investigated this case, said: “We know Londoners are worried about theft. It’s a horrible crime, and it causes a lot of stress, pain, and financial loss. That’s why we take this crime seriously and a whole team of us were committed to catching Singh and Bruyea.
“You couldn’t fail to be moved by the devastating impact their callous behaviour had on people, and we hope that by catching them this offers victims a little bit of solace.
“I would urge anyone who has had something stolen to get in touch, because we do want to drive down this crime and go after those who target the public.
“We will now look to forfeit the proceeds of their crimes to try and help compensate those who went through this.”
Credit: Source link