A fraudster has been jailed for more than three years after stealing £55,000 from multiple victims through bogus ticket sites.
John Koukoullis, of Fellows Road, London, ran two sites – Protime Tours and Liveticketstreams – between 2016 and 2018 where he flogged tickets that customers never received.
The sites made more than £55,000 from selling the fake tickets for sports, music and comedy events.
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The 50-year-old was arrested after Action Fraud received numerous complaints from victims between November 2016 and June 2017, and was sentenced at St Albans Crown Court on Friday, September 3 this year.
Koukoullis was sentenced to three years and six months in prison after pleading guilty to fraud by false representation.
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Detective Constable Richard Bagworth, from Hertfordshire Constabulary Serious Fraud and Cyber Unit, said: “This fraudster will now have several years to reflect on his actions and hopefully it will be some comfort to those he has scammed.
“Action Fraud receives thousands of complaints every year relating to various types of online fraud and anyone looking to buy tickets or anything else online is advised to thoroughly research companies before paying any money.
“We would advise people looking to buy tickets and other items online to use a reputable company and be very wary of links in unsolicited emails, texts and social media posts.
“New sites appear all the time and fraudsters can quickly shut down one site and set up another under a new name.”
You can find out more information on shopping safely online visit here.
You can report information about crime online at herts.police.uk/report, speak to an operator in the Force Communications Room via the police’s online web chat at herts.police.uk/contact or call the non-emergency number 101.
Alternatively, stay anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their untraceable online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.
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