Narinder Kaur, a shoplifter from Cleverton, Wiltshire, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after stealing from over 1,000 stores nationwide. Kaur fraudulently obtained around £500,000 in refunds for stolen goods.
In March 2023, Kaur was found guilty of 25 offences, including fraud, possessing and transferring criminal property, and perverting the course of justice, reported BBC. Judge Ian Lawrie KC, sentencing Kaur in her absence at Gloucester Crown Court, described her as "thoroughly dishonest."
Prosecutors revealed that the 54-year-old exploited a loophole in retail systems, allowing her to return stolen items for refunds without receipts. She would purchase low-value items to obtain receipts, enabling her to claim refunds for both the low-value items and the stolen goods.
Kaur's crimes spanned multiple locations, including Solihull, Worcester, Cheltenham, Malvern, Shrewsbury, Cardiff, Trowbridge, Reading, and Yeovil. Retailers targeted included Boots, Debenhams, Homebase, John Lewis, House of Fraser, Monsoon, M&S, and TK Maxx, reported BBC.
Between July 2015 and February 2019, Kaur defrauded retailers over a thousand times. Additionally, she defrauded eight law firms by suing her brother and using stolen credit cards to pay compensations, which the firms forwarded to her before discovering the fraud.
Kaur also attempted to defraud Wiltshire Council of £7,400 by overpaying with stolen credit cards and then requesting refunds for the overpayment. Upon her arrest, she presented false documents to avoid speeding convictions and to relax bail conditions.
Steve Tristram, a fraud investigator with West Mercia Police, stated this case was the most "planned" and "sophisticated" he had encountered. He described Kaur's operation as a full-time job, involving hiring cars and creating false identities to open new bank accounts.
