Fraudster who tried to con Oswestry bank staff jailed for two years

Robert Mwangi visited Lloyds bank in Church Street on September 10, Shrewsbury Crown Court heard.

Mr Simon Parry, prosecuting, said he attempted to transfer £1,000 to the bank account of a man he stated was his friend.

The 32-year-old produced a driving licence but staff at the bank realised it was fake.

Mr Parry said: "They started to ask questions of the defendant."

The court heard the driving licence was also in another man's name.

Mwangi also initially gave police a false name when they arrived.

Mr Parry said it emerged that the driving licence number did not exist with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

He said: "This was an entirely fake driving licence."

Mwangi, of Exbridge Walk, Manchester, gave a 'no comment' police interview.

Mr Parry said he had committed similar crimes in the past.

Mwangi was given an 18 month prison sentence, suspended for two years, in 2017 after being convicted of multiple charges of possessing false documents and fraud by false representation.

The court heard it had involved Mwangi using fraudulent passports to obtain mobile phone contracts.

He was detained in a Tesco Extra store in Woolwich, south-east London, after attempting to enter into another mobile phone contract.

Mwangi pleaded guilty to the most recent offences for being in possession of an identity document with improper intention and fraud by making a false representation.

Mr Adrian Roberts, representing Mwangi, said he was born in Kenya and came to the country in 2009 in the hope of improving his life.

The court was told that personal problems had landed him in debt.

Mr Roberts said he also suffered from mental health issues.

Recorder Christopher Millington QC said when he had been given a suspended prison sentence last year he was told it was his last chance.

But he added: "In September of this year you went to a bank in Oswestry in possession of another fraudulent document in an attempt to obtain £1,000 dishonestly."

Mr Millington QC said the crime had fortunately been detected by staff at the bank who alerted the police.

For being in possession of the false driving licence, Mwangi was jailed for two months.

He was given a four month prison term for the fraud offence and Mr Millington QC also activated his suspended prison sentence in full.

Mwangi was told all the sentences would run consecutively and he would serve a two-year jail term.

The fake driving licence will also be destroyed.