A 37-year-old man who lives in a town in Scotland has been jailed for two and a half years after he ‘hijacked’ 68 people’s identities to claim almost £170,000 (roughly $228,000 in USD) while going through gambling addiction.
The man, James Stephen Barley, was arrested on February 8 of last year, with 157 fraudulent claims having been submitted over a period of two and a half years. The personal information he had used was said to have been ‘harvested’ from social media sites like Facebook.
The fraud was carried out between December 2018 and March 2021, with one of the victims, whose identity had been used, having complained to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) about a change to their benefits status.
Gambling addict admits to three charges, including two related to fraud
It was during an earlier court appearance that Barley admitted to three charges, including fraud by false representation, making articles for fraud, and possessing criminal property.
A reporter from the News & Star, The Cumberland News, says the man told the judge from the dock that there were ‘two sides’ to his character as he was both a man who worked and earned an honest living, and a gambling addict.
The identities used were confirmed to have come from people from his area, former school friends, and whose Facebook pages he had examined. A family member’s details were also used, with the man utilizing the local library to print off faux documentation.
Barley is reported to have told the judge: “I have a severe gambling addiction. It’s ruined my life. I need closure from this. I can’t sleep, I can’t think straight.
“My head is an absolute car crash.
“This has to come off my back today so that I can start my life again. I have a good job, two dogs I adore, and I want to start my life again.” Ahead of giving the sentencing, the Judge was said to have noted Barley’s previous good character.
Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram
The post Scottish resident jailed after hijacking identities to spend over $200k on gambling appeared first on ReadWrite.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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