Pair's £21K forged stamp scam drama

TWO Oldham men set up a lucrative business by duping internet shoppers into buying books of forged postage stamps.

Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court heard how the pair made thousands of pounds by ripping off both eBay customers and the Royal Mail, selling books of first class stamps at knock-down prices.

Positive feedback encouraged more and more buyers, until the penny dropped and posts were put on the site warning that the stamps were counterfeit.

Robert Elias, prosecuting, said the books of stamps were high quality forgeries, but when scrutinised, the colour, density of printing, and the card used, "did not pass muster."

Usman Lohdi (29), of Park Road, Oldham, and Aqib Mahmood (24), of Queens Road, Oldham, both pleaded guilty on the day of their trial to marketing counterfeit stamps valued at around £21,000. Mahmood pleaded guilty to a further charge of forgery, having been found in possession of books of bogus stamps.

Judge Bernard Lever, sentencing, told both men that he had been minded to send both immediately to prison, before hearing the circumstances of the case.

He said however he felt able to suspend each of their 10-month sentences for two years.

In addition Mahmood was ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work in the community, and Lohdi will be subject to a nightly curfew by electronic tagging for four months. The court was told that the books of stamps had been offered for sale on eBay at half price, which was a deal that was literally too good to be true.

An investigation was launched by the Royal Mail after they were alerted to the scam, and Mahmood was quickly traced via his email and postal address which he had not tried to hide.

Profits

He was found to have put up 56 listings of large quantities of postage stamps on the internet, and his co defendant Lohdi had tried to maximise their profits by 'bidding up' the price, posing as a buyer himself.

The court was told that the two men each blamed the other, but the Crown had been unable to say who had been the prime mover, or where the forged stamps had come from.

Lohdi's name had been given to Royal Mail investigators by a lawyer acting for Mahmood, and the court was told that it was unlikely that his involvement would otherwise have come to light.

Mahmood, who gained a degree in information technology, was said to have acted completely out of character.

Paul Edwards defending, said he had always been a high achiever, but after leaving university he could not cope with getting knock backs for job applications.

He said: "He made a monumental mistake, but he is deeply sorry for what he has done."

The court was told that Lohdi, described as a vulnerable man, suffered a "plethora" of medical conditions including acute depression.