Kirsty Cox jailed for two years
for �450,000 iPad scam
3 January 2014 Last updated at
14:02
Kirsty Cox is thought to have
scammed hundreds of people by
claiming to have cheap iPads for
sale
A woman who defrauded
hundreds of customers in an
iPad scam worth �450,000 has
been jailed.
Kirsty Cox, from Newton Aycliffe,
County Durham, took thousands
of orders for the tablet computers
between March and December
2012 after claiming she could
source them at a reduced price.
Teesside Crown Court heard how
the 37-year-old was paid for the
devices but could not provide
them.
Cox, who previously admitted four
fraud charges, was jailed for two
years.
Judge George Moorhouse said her
offending had "caused misery" to
children last Christmas after
"tricking" their parents into
thinking she could supply the
presents.
The mother-of-two told people
she had a contact who could
provide her with iPads for �50 to
�100 off the retail price, using her
"niceness" to "deceive" customers,
the court heard.
'Trusted her 100%'
Cox's former sister-in-law Karen
Kennedy and her husband Saul
took cash from work colleagues
which they passed on to her.
Mrs Kennedy said: "I had a really
close relationship with Kirsty and
she had a really good reputation.
"She told me that she could get
really cheap iPads and she had
been supplying them to loads of
companies and she just asked me
to spread the word at my work.
"I trusted her 100% and I had no
reason not to."
The court heard how on one
occasion Cox spent �1.52m on
iPads from PC World and then sold
them at a loss in a bid to cover
her tracks.
Saul and Karen Kennedy said they
felt "helpless" after being
scammed by Kirsty Cox
When she was arrested in
December 2012, Durham Police
kept her in custody for her own
safety after angry customers
gathered outside her home
demanding to know what had
happened to their orders.
Det Supt Neil Jones from Durham
Police said: "The actual real
cutting effect was for the people
who had been saving the small
amounts per week to buy iPads
for the kids for Christmas.
"To find out the week before that
your goods weren't coming was
devastating, people's Christmases
were ruined."
Mr Jones said one lady cancelled
her own wedding to try and pay
back the people she had taken
money from to give to Cox.
Saul Kennedy said: "You're feeling
everyone's pain and you can
understand why everyone is so
angry, but you feel absolutely
helpless.
"You're in a situation where you
can do nothing about it but these
people have trusted you with their
money. You are responsible."
Hundreds of people are believed
to have been victims of Cox's
scam. Shaun Dodds, prosecuting,
said the actual loss to customers
was more than �1.1m.
Judge Moorhouse jailed Cox as she
wept in the dock, despite hearing
that her family had suffered while
she spent six months on remand.
He said: "You have two young
children who suffered miserably
while you were on remand.
"I am afraid they are going to
suffer even more."

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tees-25589668