It was a “profitable full-time job,” and he traveled across the country to trick stores into giving him returns for items he never bought. Now prosperous shopkeeper Narinder Kaur faces a “significant” sentence after being convicted of 26 major charges including fraud.
Also known as Nina Tiara, an investigation into the career criminal found she committed “theft on an industrial scale” between July 2015 and February 2019. The “extensive” four-year scam netted him more than half a million pounds.
The store also cheated them out of their money more than 1,000 times. Kaur’s “extraordinary lengths” included legally changing her name before opening bank accounts and credit cards under a second identity to avoid detection.
READ MORE: Readers wonder how Narinder Kaur, 53, got away with false returns fraud for so long
But his scheme extended even further. He defrauded a council of thousands by claiming they had accidentally put “too many zeros” on their payments and needed refunds.
Police raided his home and found around £150,000 in cash and stolen goods hidden inside. Investigators were able to prove he was guilty after combing through financial data, retail records, witness evidence and CCTV footage.
On CCTV, he was caught entering shops, stealing items and taking them to the till, but then pretending to have bought them earlier. An examination of his accounts proved that he had done this hundreds of times.
The Crown Prosecution Service has since said it wants to “recover” as much of its earnings as possible. Kaur, 53, stole items from high street shops in the UK.
Stores in Birmingham, the Black Country, Shropshire and Staffordshire featured on his hit list. He then asked for refunds to which he was not entitled.
Boot shops across the country were targeted, including in Smethwick, Dudley, Kidderminster and Droitwich. He received £60,787.09 despite only spending £5,172.73 in his shops.
Debenhams refunded him £42,853.65 for items worth £3,681.33. At John Lewis, she received £33,131.61 in refunds but only spent £5,290.36.
He visited John Lewis stores in Birmingham and Tamworth. More than £23,000 was claimed back before payment for items at Monsoon stores such as Telford and Shrewsbury.
He spent £2,853.55 at House of Fraser but claimed £23,147.75 back. The Birmingham store was one of a number he visited.
The fraudster also entered Homesense stores in Stafford, Shrewsbury, Cannock, Solihull and Worcester, among others. He spent just £1,181.45 there but claimed £19,540.17 in refunds.
TK Maxx was defrauded of £14,563.53, while Homebase was defrauded of £3,238.47, the CPS said. He defrauded Wiltshire Council of £7,400 using stolen credit cards to pay for services before claiming refunds. His excuse was that he had accidentally put “too many zeros”.
A male accomplice also helped use stolen bank card details to make payments to the heating oil supplier. He lied to the judge and produced a false document to avoid being charged with speeding and to have his bail conditions reduced.
Kaur, of Chosen Hill, Cleverton, Wiltshire, was convicted by a jury of fraud, possession and transfer of criminal property and perverting the course of justice. His conviction follows a four-month trial at Gloucester Crown Court on March 10.
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