Fraudster Receives Heftier Penalty for Boasting About Bets on TikTok
A man from Britain who tricked gambling machines at betting shops using modified and laminated £20 banknotes has received a 16-month prison sentence.
Judge Garrett Byrne at Liverpool Crown Court was unimpressed by Michael Shaw's supposed remorse because he later posted an arrogant rant on TikTok. Shaw, 38, and his brother, Paul Shaw, 39, both from Liverpool, admitted to conspiring to commit fraud by false representation on February 15.
From September 2017 to May 2018, the brothers stole over £15,000 by targeting betting shops and pubs in northern England. They created fake credits by using these tampered banknotes and yanked them out of the machines using a plastic cord.
"No Shame"
Shortly after he pleaded guilty, intoxicated Michael Shaw posted a TikTok video and called himself "the bookies fraudster" and a modern-day Robin Hood. He said in the hour-long stream, "There's no shame in this, I don't feel embarrassed at all about what I did. I don't care. It's not defrauding vulnerable people, nothing like that, it's taking off of the bookies. And people really need to understand this, the bookies rob from us."
When some followers cautioned him about posting about his crime online, he replied, "Why? I've pleaded guilty. I'm guilty."
"It's not a bad crime, it's something where you can actually hold your head high," Shaw claimed. "I beat the bookies. I didn't go with balaclavas on with fing guns going 'give me all your money.' I didn't do all that, I didn't go in with crowbars opening fing machines."
"Better Life"
Unfortunately for Shaw, The Liverpool Echo reported on his TikTok rant. During his sentencing hearing on Wednesday, Judge Byrne scoffed at his apology.
His attorney, Charles Lander, said Shaw understood he'd put himself in a precarious situation but emphasized that his client genuinely regretted his actions. Lander also mentioned Shaw's recent diagnosis of bipolar disorder and anxiety and that he'd improved his life since the scam.
Byrne said Shaw's posts on social media had undermined his claims of remorse and demonstrated a complete lack of comprehension about how damaging his actions were to the affected businesses. The judge added four more months to Shaw's sentence for his bragging online.
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