A serial fraudster has been warned he could face a prison sentence after pleading guilty to selling tickets he never had to a Coldplay concert on an internet site.
James Shevlin, who is one of Preston’s most prolific con men, has 55 previous offences for fraud, thefts and deceptions, dating back as far as the 1970s.
he last hit the headlines in May 2007 when he was jailed for three-and-a-half years when he stole pub landlord Peter Hough’s identity and went on a £21,000 spending spree.
He tricked information out of Mr Hough by posing as a friendly customer at the Smiths Arms Hotel in Lea.
In his latest spate of offending he sold non existent tickets to a Coldplay concert on a website.
He has admitted one count of fraud and has had six other crimes taken into consideration.
Prosecuting at Preston Magistrates Court, Elliott Taylforth described how the 51-year-old, from Tag Croft, Ingol, Preston, had advertised tickets for Coldplay’s Manchester concert, which took place in June, on the Gumtree website at a cost of around £300.
One victim from Hampshire had paid cash into his bank account but the tickets had never arrived and the matter was reported to the police.
When arrested Shevlin admitted he did not possess any Coldplay tickets.
He confessed to police about six other similar matters, involving Coldplays fans from various counties.
All the crimes happened in April and May, just before the band’s Manchester concert.
Those deceptions, amounting to around £1,500, will now be taken into consideration by the judge.
Sgt Michelle Doughty, of Lea Police said: “We welcome any fraud conviction and await his sentence in the hope it will deter other people from committing serious offences.”
The case was committed to Preston Crown Court for sentence on October 2.
Comments