"She travelled up and down the country"
A prolific fraudster who conned retailers and other businesses out of £500,000 has been jailed for 10 years.
Narinder Kaur, formally known as Nina Tiara, travelled across the UK to steal from well-known high street stores and then falsely claimed refunds on those items.
Between July 2015 and September 2019, it is estimated Kaur netted around £2,000 worth of refunds per week, equating to over £500,000 in fraudulent refunds and stolen goods.
Knowing that she was under investigation for these offences, she then embarked upon a scheme to defraud other businesses using the dishonestly obtained credit card details of members of the public.
The fraudster first came to Wiltshire Police’s attention in 2016 for theft.
A joint investigation took place between Wiltshire and West Mercia in August 2020, which saw over a thousand items, suspected to be criminal property seized from her home near Malmesbury.
Kaur arrested again in October 2020 by Wiltshire Police when she attempted to fraudulently return items for a refund in Dunelm, St Margaret’s Retail Park, Swindon.
Hundreds of items were seized from her property, again suspected to be criminal property, including more than £113,800 in cash and dozens of gift cards.
During the joint investigation, Kaur was also arrested for witness intimidation when she threatened to sue Dunelm staff if they made witness statements to the police.
Despite being on court bail, the offences continued and Kaur was arrested in May 2021 for attempting to fraudulently return stolen items to Asda stores in both Melksham and Swindon.
A third search of her home address recovered a further £38,000 in cash, located by a police search dog where it was concealed beneath a water heater.
Kaur was also arrested by Wiltshire Police on several occasions for breaching her court-issued bail by entering stores she had been instructed by the court not to, and failing to adhere to curfew times.
In March 2023, the 54-year-old was found guilty of 26 counts of fraud, money laundering and perverting the course of justice.
During sentencing, the judge described Kaur’s lies as being of an Olympian scale and that her home was a treasure trove of criminal proceeds.
Kaur was jailed for 10 years.
Fraud investigator, Steve Tristram, from West Mercia Police’s Economic Crime Unit, said:
“This sentence today sends out a clear message that West Mercia Police will deal seriously with prolific fraudsters.
“Kaur is a calculated individual who committed offences across the country, dishonestly claiming refunds on items she had stolen.
“She showed no remorse of her actions and even thought she would get away with submitting false documents to the court with the intention of perverting the course of justice.
“West Mercia Police took ownership of the investigation into Narinder Kaur in 2018.”
“Working with National Business Crime Solution, an organisation representing retailers, and other police forces as a multi-agency approach, we were able to investigate further into her criminal activity and found fraudulent activity in her bank accounts which subsequently brought her to justice.”
Detective Inspector Tom Straker added: “As most of us went to work, Kaur carried out crime as her profession.
“She travelled up and down the country earning a living as a professional shoplifter and a prolific fraudster, and attempted to evade detection by using around 17 alias names.
“In an effort to derail investigations Kaur attempted to intimidate both police staff and public witnesses, but thanks to the determination and professionalism of our officers, and the cooperation of the public, I am pleased that she will be behind bars for some time.”
Loading ...