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A man from Hythe has been given a suspended sentence and fined £10,000 after using fraudulent tickets to travel on the Southeastern rail network over four years.
Rory Stickles 46, appeared on 2 July at Inner London Crown Court where he was handed a 12 month sentence, suspended for two years and ordered to pay a fine of £10,000 after he pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by false representation and nine counts of possession of an article for use in fraud.
The court heard how on 26 January 2024, at around 9.20pm, a member of rail staff was conducting ticket checks at St Pancras International railway station when Stickles approached the barrier line. Initially Stickles presented a staff ticket which the member of staff noticed was out of date. Upon further inspection, they noticed further inconsistencies and believed it to be fraudulent. The ticket was then shown to British Transport Police officers and the member of staff explained the situation.
It’s understood Stickles was searched and found to be in possession of nine tickets and passes believed to be fraudulent. The tickets dated back to 2019, amounting to four years’ worth of journeys made fraudulently between Folkestone and St Pancras International. The tickets were seized, checked, and confirmed to be counterfeit.
An expert witness estimated the loss in revenue was anywhere between £27,959.70 and £85,546.70.
Investigating officer PC Matthew Spencer said:
“Stickles’ fraud covered four years resulting in a significant loss of revenue to Southeastern. He believed he was above other rail passengers in not having to pay the full fare. This is not a victimless crime, with losses like this impacting the honest fare-paying public.
“We will not tolerate fraud on the rail network and we will do everything in our power to bring offenders to justice.”