Justin Bieber and Beyonce fans scammed out of 10k for non-existent tickets after crooked lawyer and England cricketer pretended her dad co-owned Ticketmaster
Fraudster Zainab Pervaiz used fake photos of tickets to entice fans on social media
A CROOKED lawyer and England cricketer conned Justin Bieber and Beyonce fans out of £10,000 in a fake ticket scam.
Zainab Pervaiz, 25, pretended her dad co-owned Ticketmaster in a "sophisticated and complicated" bid to flog non-existent tickets to her unsuspecting victims.
The fraudster advertised tickets to the gigs of music superstars including Justin Bieber, Adele, Beyonce and AC/DC on social media - using fake photos of passes to entice fans.
In total 16 would-be gig goers were tricked into paying thousands of pounds in the fraud that spanned an 11-month period.
The court had heard that the student immigration lawyer used a bank account belonging to the grandfather of her girlfriend to funnel cash from her victims.
The unwitting grandfather was left more than £7,000 out of pocket after having to repay those that had been duped.
Gary Cook, prosecuting told how Pervaiz, who worked as a paralegal, was in a relationship with the elderly victim's "vulnerable" granddaughter Kayleigh Bricknell.
He said: "The defendant presented herself to Ms Bricknell as a solicitor; said she had rich friends, and that her father co-founded Ticketmaster."
Pervaiz, who "came across as plausible", promised to repay the cash after she was discovered - but didn't hand over a penny.
However, her barrister Rachel Pennington explained that the family had raised £11,000 to cover the compensation and asked the judge to suspend any jail sentence.
She said Pervaiz wanted to express her "deep regret and remorse", and "heartfelt apologies" to those affected.
Today Pervaiz, of Walsall, West Midlands, was told she had ";escaped jail by a whisker" after she admitted 16 counts of fraud by false representation.
She was handed a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years as well as being ordered to carry out 150 hours unpaid work and pay back the £9,982.25 she swindled from her victims.
But, Mr Cook told the court the exposed crimes could be the tip of the iceberg with further investigations revealing that up to £40,000 may have been taken during the scam.
Judge Simon Drew QC said: "That was £10,000 not raised in order for you to survive but essentially, as far as I read it, for you to enjoy certain luxuries in your life and no doubt maintain some debts you had incurred in the past for the same reason.
"You are someone whose expectations of life clearly far exceed your means."
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