A LONDON-BASED fraudster who used stolen credit cards to buy thousands of pounds worth of technology from Jersey shops before travelling to the Island to collect them using forged IDs has been jailed.

Taznim Siddiquee (26) was arrested on the shop floor of FotoSound after one of the card owners spotted the fraudulent transactions on his account and tipped off the store.

In the Royal Court yesterday, he was jailed for two years and three months on charges of fraud and refusing to provide a passcode.

Siddiquee ordered items online from Fotosound, the Powerhouse and the IQ store, before travelling to Jersey in May to pick the items up. He had ordered a £899 iPhone Air 256GB, an orange iPhone 17 Pro Max 512GB worth £1,329 and an iPhone 17 Pro Max worth £1,225.

He travelled to the Island with two forged UK driving licenses under the names Noah Lam and Xavier Augustus – the same names he used for his shopping.

Once in Jersey, he bought two more iPhones, two PlayStations, an iPad and a camera, which he ordered online and over the phone from Powerhouse and Fotosound. Once at the IQ store, he upgraded one of the iPhones from an iPhone 17 Pro Max to an iPhone 17 Pro 1TB, which he paid for himself.

Siddiquee spent £799 on two nights at Liberty Apartments – which was booked under his Xavier Augustus alias – but his card failed when he tried to extend his stay.

Unbeknownst to him, one of the cards’ owners had spotted the transactions at Fotosound and Powerhouse and blocked the cards, before calling the shops.

Crown Advocate Luke Sette, prosecuting, said a Powerhouse employee “looked on their system and found a purchase in the name Noah Lam” before talking to a colleague who was listed as the employee who made the sale.

“As she approached her colleague, she saw he was on the phone with ‘Noah Lam’, and he was trying to make a purchase, but the card was rejected,” he said.

The colleague hung up the phone because of their suspicions and noted that the caller had introduced himself as Noah Lam – but that he was connected to the customer account of Xavier Augustus. He tried again the next day, but the same employee who spotted the fraud told him to come to the shop in person to pay and Siddiquee he never turned up.

Shortly after, on the same morning, the victim spoke to Fotosound and provided his ID. An hour later, Siddiquee turned up at the shop.

“Employees at Fotosound had been made aware of the suspicious purchases, so intentionally sent the defendant away for ten minutes under the pretense that they were preparing his order,” Crown Advocate Sette said. “They used this time to contact the police.”

Siddiquee was arrested at the shop when he returned.

Advocate Allana Binnie, defending, said her client had was “somewhat of a young and naive man” who was being threatened over a debt of thousands of pounds by a Dubai-based man who he had mistakenly trusted.

Eventually, the man asked Siddiquee to collect phones from a trip to France, which he unquestioningly did, the court heard. The defendant was stopped by French border control and the phones taken from him, but the man pursued him for a £7,500 debt.

“He stopped replying to the friend, but then he started to receive these threats and pressure. My client was aware this friend had gang affiliations in Hackney,” Advocate Binnie said.

Though Siddiquee refused to give his PINs codes to the police, investigators managed to recover some messages, including some telling him: “I’m gnna send ppl to your yard. You got until the end of the week.”

Siddiquee agreed to travel to Jersey in the hopes that it would settle the debt that he had no way of paying it back himself, as he was unemployed.

“At the time, he was in fear of reprisals. That fear over-rode all other thoughts,” Advocate Binnie said.

She added that he showed legitimate remorse in a letter and “did not have a leading role in this offending”.

Delivering the court’s verdict, Deputy Bailiff Mark Temple, presiding, praised the actions of the Fotosound staff and said the court did not allow threats to be used as mitigation.

“Those outside the Island who come here in order to commit fraud… must know that they will face serious consequences,” he said. “These are serious offences which require a serious sentence.”

He sentenced Siddiquee to a total of 18 months for six fraud offences, and nine months for the two refusals to provide a PIN, adding up to two years and three months’ imprisonment.

Detective Sergeant Dave Webster, from the Joint Financial Crimes Unit, said: “This case
demonstrates that Jersey is not a soft target for organised fraudsters who seek to exploit local businesses for financial gain.

“The defendant travelled to Jersey with the intention of committing criminal offences and profiting from stolen financial information. Thanks to the vigilance of the retailer and the prompt action taken by officers, he was arrested before he could complete further fraudulent transactions.

“We welcome the sentence imposed by the Royal Court and we remain committed to
identifying, investigating and prosecuting those who target businesses and members of our
community.

“The Joint Financial Crimes Unit encourages businesses to remain vigilant for suspicious
transactions and to report any concerns to the Police at the earliest opportunity.”