Scots Hotel Manager Jailed for Credit Card Train Ticket Fraud

A hotel manager in Scotland went to jail. His name is Blessing Bere, age 49. He used a guest’s credit card and bought himself train tickets with it. This happened in England.

Bere admitted to two counts of fraud. The court sentenced him on February 11th at Carlisle Crown Court. The victim stayed at the Surrey hotel where Bere worked as a night manager.

The guest noticed a charge for train tickets on his credit card and contacted LNER customer service right away on May 3, 2022. The customer service team told their fraud department who flagged the train tickets as fraudulent.

Bere showed the tickets on a trip from London to Edinburgh on May 6. Train staff knew about the fraud alert and told him to leave at Doncaster station where British Transport Police met him. He seemed nervous and couldn’t explain the ticket purchase.

Further investigation uncovered more attempts to buy tickets with different cards. All of this led to his arrest. Police searched Bere and seized items including credit card forms from the hotel.

These forms held guest credit card details. The victim gave his card at check-in so they could charge his room. Bere used that same card for fraud, and he also charged another guest’s account.

The unauthorized charges totaled almost £250. Detective Constable Kristene Lawrence spoke about the case, explaining that Bere betrayed the hotel guests’ trust, using their information for personal gain.

Lawrence added that crime doesn’t pay and Bere now has a criminal record. He also lost his job and faces jail time. Peter Craggs from LNER also made a statement.

LNER takes all reports of fraud very seriously. They work with British Transport Police to protect people and stop criminals from abusing the system.