| Re: students who claimed £140k delay repay jailed Posted by ChrisB at 17:17, 22nd October 2025 |     |
Good spot, XC!
| students who claimed £140k delay repay jailed Posted by matth1j at 17:11, 22nd October 2025 | |
Daily Mail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15216025/Chinese-students-claim-140k-delayed-train-journeys-jailed.html
Chinese students who exploited loophole to claim £140k in train refunds on delayed journeys are jailed
Two Chinese students who claimed £140,000 in train refunds for 'delayed journeys' have been jailed.
Li Liu, 26, and Wanqinq Yu, 25, exploited a loophole in the system while living together at their student flat in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Under the national Delay Repay scheme, passengers can claim compensation when a train arrives late.
But Lu and Yiu discovered there were not automatic cross-checks to find out whether a customer had already had their ticket refunded.
The pair would first claim refunds for train tickets - pretending they no longer wanted to travel - then pocket extra cash by applying for Delay Repay compensation on the same journeys if the trains ran late, Leeds Crown Court heard.
When British Transport Police arrested them, it was found Liu had illegally acquired £141,031, while Yu had received £15,712.
The duo, who were both held on remand since their arrest, admitted charges of conspiracy to defraud and possession of criminal property.
Liu was jailed for 30 months and Yu for 17 weeks.
The court heard they had multiple bank accounts and had created 16 fictitious people to help conceal their fraud while living as flatmates.
They also used a 20-SIM card adapter in a single phone so they could closely monitor their scam and make it appear contact was from different phones and people.
The pair researched services all across the country which were often late and they would buy tickets in advance.
When the trains were late, they would apply through the national scheme for compensation, having already claimed a refund for the tickets.
Their scam was first realised by CrossCountry Trains, but several other companies were also affected. It was found the scam had been in operation since 2021.
The court heard Liu, who had no previous convictions, had started a one-year course at Leeds University last year.
He had previously applied for an advanced computer science course at Birmingham University.
Yu, who also had no previous convictions, was on a one-year English-teaching course at Leeds.
Both gave no-comment interviews after their arrest.
Mitigating, Justin McClintock said Liu would 'carry the remorse and shame for his life'.
He said there was a 'much more positive side to his character than reflected by his offending'.
He explained Lui also hoped to return to China to reunite with his family.
Little mitigation was offered for Yu after Judge Howard Crowson said her sentence would mean she is released imminently due to time already served on remand.
Judge Crowson told them: 'You identified a weakness in the system, and between you, you abused that weakness.
'There was some sophistication, you created false identities and created a large number of bank accounts in order to conceal that you were behind the fraud.'
Two Chinese students who claimed £140,000 in train refunds for 'delayed journeys' have been jailed.
Li Liu, 26, and Wanqinq Yu, 25, exploited a loophole in the system while living together at their student flat in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Under the national Delay Repay scheme, passengers can claim compensation when a train arrives late.
But Lu and Yiu discovered there were not automatic cross-checks to find out whether a customer had already had their ticket refunded.
The pair would first claim refunds for train tickets - pretending they no longer wanted to travel - then pocket extra cash by applying for Delay Repay compensation on the same journeys if the trains ran late, Leeds Crown Court heard.
When British Transport Police arrested them, it was found Liu had illegally acquired £141,031, while Yu had received £15,712.
The duo, who were both held on remand since their arrest, admitted charges of conspiracy to defraud and possession of criminal property.
Liu was jailed for 30 months and Yu for 17 weeks.
The court heard they had multiple bank accounts and had created 16 fictitious people to help conceal their fraud while living as flatmates.
They also used a 20-SIM card adapter in a single phone so they could closely monitor their scam and make it appear contact was from different phones and people.
The pair researched services all across the country which were often late and they would buy tickets in advance.
When the trains were late, they would apply through the national scheme for compensation, having already claimed a refund for the tickets.
Their scam was first realised by CrossCountry Trains, but several other companies were also affected. It was found the scam had been in operation since 2021.
The court heard Liu, who had no previous convictions, had started a one-year course at Leeds University last year.
He had previously applied for an advanced computer science course at Birmingham University.
Yu, who also had no previous convictions, was on a one-year English-teaching course at Leeds.
Both gave no-comment interviews after their arrest.
Mitigating, Justin McClintock said Liu would 'carry the remorse and shame for his life'.
He said there was a 'much more positive side to his character than reflected by his offending'.
He explained Lui also hoped to return to China to reunite with his family.
Little mitigation was offered for Yu after Judge Howard Crowson said her sentence would mean she is released imminently due to time already served on remand.
Judge Crowson told them: 'You identified a weakness in the system, and between you, you abused that weakness.
'There was some sophistication, you created false identities and created a large number of bank accounts in order to conceal that you were behind the fraud.'
