WEIR: CONFIDENCE TRICKSTER’S LETTING SCAM

A ‘thoroughly dishonest’ confidence trickster who conned thousands of pounds from a string of house hunters has been jailed for 15 months.

Simon Weir, 30, advertised his ex-girlfriend’s flat on the classifieds website Gumtree and ran off with victims’ deposits.

He roped in cash strapped mum-of-two Hauadh Molabakhsh to help him get the dupes to sign fake tenancy agreements for the apartment in Spriggs House, Canonbury Road, Islington, north london.

But while Weir has a list of previous convictions, and was also conning his housing association at the time, 33-year-old Molabakhsh had no criminal history.

She wept as Judge John Hillen handed her eight months in jail suspended for two years and 200 hours’ unpaid work at Blackfriars Crown Court.

Emma Jones, prosecuting, said: ‘This was a well-planned and executed series of frauds involving five victims and two flats in the London area.

‘It started when several advertisements were placed in Gumtree advertising flats to rent in Islington and a contact name of Steve was given.

‘The complainants telephoned that number and confirmed the flats were for rent.’

On April 25 this year Diana Darie and her mother met Steve, who was really Weir, who showed them around the Islington flat.

‘She expressed interest and was told she was going to meet Steve’s sister Yasmin, who was in fact Molabakhsh.

‘A contract was sent for the tenancy and Ms Darie paid £1,400 and was given a key to the premises.

‘A couple of days later she tried to contact Steve and Yasmin, but their phones were switched off.

‘They started to become a little worried and suspicious about the transactions.’

Ms Darie then made contact with the actual tenant, who turned out to be Weir’s ex.

She helpfully showed the victim a text from Weir who had said: ‘If you want to make a grand in a few days all I gotta do is borrow your yard for a few days.’

The former girlfriend said she allowed him to use the premises, knowing nothing of his real plan.

Ms Jones said Hanetu Ibrahim, Sergiu Canshi and Haifa Olsen were also separately taken in by Weir who they spoke to on the telephone around the same time.

They met Molabakhsh, signed tenancy agreements and handed over deposits.

‘Subsequently they discovered they had been misled and contacted police,’ said the prosecutor.

Bhasker Siddharth told police he paid £2,700 into a bank account held by Simon Weir after answering Gumtree ad.

‘On 17 May he contacted police and said he was a victim of a scam,’ said Ms Jones.

Ms Jones said the pair stole £4,400 jointly and Weir pocketed £3,300 on his own.

Further police investigations revealed Weir had ripped off £3,000 from his housing association.

He was behind on his rent on a property in East Ferry Road, Isle of Dogs, east London, after handing them a fake reference claiming he was employed by University College Hospital when he had not worked there for some time.

It also emerged he had stolen from that hospital trust after having claiming sickpay with a series of bogus doctor’s notes.

He was handed a community order for that offence in September, which he breached with the Gumtree con.

When he was arrested he claimed he was led to believe his former partner wanted to rent out her flat but denied misleading anyone and sending the incriminating text.

Molabakhsh claimed she owed Weir a drug debt and he offered her a way out when they bumped into each other in Hackney.

But she now says she was simply ‘experiencing serious financial difficulties’ and owed £3,000 rent.

She claims Weir paid her £200 for each case she helped with.

Passing sentence Judge Hillen said: ‘You have both pleaded guilty and been sent to this court for a serious offence of fraud.

‘In your case Weir, you had only in September been sentenced to a community order for dishonesty.

‘This is a serious case of confidence trickery because it put victims, those who were seeking to house themselves, in difficulty because they parted with money which you were stealing from them.

‘You are a thoroughly dishonest man.

‘Molabakhsh, you are a footsoldier but nevertheless what you did was involved yourself in the signing of the agreements and took the money which you then passed to your co-defendant.

‘Only a custodial sentence is appropriate but I can under the circumstances undertake an act of mercy.’

Weir, of Shelbourne Square, Hackney, e London, admitted six counts of fraud between November last year and April this year, and Molabakhsh, of Downham Road, Islington, n London, admitted four.

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