Caroline Scott, aged 37, opened 57 online accounts by using the name of a couple who had emigrated to Greece. The couple, Derek and Amanda Dudridge, were enjoying a stress-free life in Greece while Scott opened 57 online accounts in their name and went on a 50,000-pound shopping spree.
British Prosecutor Heath Edwards said that within weeks she had used their existing catalogue accounts to syphon thousands of pounds worth of goods and managed to set up more accounts, including one using Amanda Dudridge’s maiden name.
The mother conned companies such as Next, Capital One and Littlewoods by dangling a string of fake IDs using the couple’s address that was her own home address before she moved in.
Before long, the Dudridges’ credit rating plummeted. Now they have been left to clean up the financial mess!
“It is perpetual dishonesty. Your illness and care of your children has not stopped you. It was calculated fraud. You were not ordering necessities but luxuries. Your husband must have been aware of it,” said Judge Neil Bidder QC upon examining the case.
But Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard how the Dudridges’ credit rating plummeted.
He said: “They have been left to clean up the financial mess. Showing leniency, companies like Littlewoods, Next and Capital One decided to write off the losses.
The irony is that all this was going on while the couple had moved to Greece specifically to get away from the digital lifestyle and they purposely isolated themselves from communication. Now, a lifetime of finances have deteriorated and they have been told that their credit rating will take years to rectify.
Dudridge says that Scott’s fraud has had a great impact on his and his wife’s lifestyle that is now no longer stress-free, it had put his marriage under strain and had consequences on his wife’s health.
Scott admitted to 16 counts of fraud. She was given a 12-month jail sentence suspended for two years with supervision and ordered to pay £200 prosecution costs and a £80 victim surcharge.
