Nigerian posed as Des O'Connor in card fraud
A John Lewis sales assistant spent nearly £1,000 of TV presenter Des O'Connor's money as part of a massive credit card scam.
Scam victim: Des O'Connor and his wife Jodie
Olanrewaju Apalara, 26, used his mobile phone to record the veteran star's card details and those of dozens of other customers at the company's flagship Oxford Street store in London. Back home, he used the information to order electronic goods and other items from internet sites, then sold them online.
He bought nearly £170,000 of goods in total and became so arrogant he started obtaining them under the online name 'killer fraud'.
But the Nigerian-born former IT student was caught when John Lewis's fraud department was alerted to a high number of 'unusual transactions'.
Yesterday he was jailed for 18 months after admitting obtaining property by deception and converting the proceeds of criminal property.
Southwark Crown Court heard how Apalara, of Dagenham, Essex, would type customers' card numbers into his phone while they paid for goods in the sports and gardening department.
Prosecutor Ben Douglas-Jones said: 'He used his position of trust to obtain the details of bankcards and pin numbers from customers who he served. Cards obtained from other sources were also used.' Apalara used two internet shopping sites where he knew the 'integrity of the card verification system was flawed', the court was told.
His purchases were delivered to friends and relatives all over London and he would visit them to pick up the goods.
The nine-month crime spree ended when John Lewis called in police.
In December 2005, officers arrested Apalara after watching him punch a customer's card number into his phone as he stood by the till.
He gave two false addresses, sending officers on a 'wild goose chase', and then refused to answer any questions.
But Mr Douglas-Jones said: 'At his home police seized a number of items, including computers which showed the transactions.
How to beat ID fraud
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They also found evidence of a money transfer to someone in Lagos, Nigeria.'
Apalara managed to log 183 bank cards between March and December 2005, despite working only a two-day week.
He made 907 internet transactions and the court heard the value of the goods involved would have reached £300,000 if he had not been caught before they had all been delivered.
He used details from the card belonging to O'Connor, who was presenting Channel 4's Countdown until earlier this year, on orders worth £2,500 but only £901 worth had arrived.
Nigel Peters, QC, defending, said his client turned to fraud because of his mounting student debts.
Judge Anthony Pitts told Apalara, who had been studying for an MSc at King's College. London: 'It is a tragedy to see someone of your intelligence and ability in front of the court.'
But he said Apalara had abused his position in a 'serious and determined fraud.'
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