A father-son duo who scammed a retailer out of £136,000 (nearly $180,000) as part of a “get rich quick” scheme have been jailed in the United Kingdom. The two men, 62-year-old Paul Mathews and 40-year-old Dean Mathews, conned British retailer Argos out of huge sums of money by purchasing and returning items over three years.
The two Cambridgeshire men followed the same format over that time; they would purchase refurbished Tefal steam irons, worth £400 when purchased new, at a discounted rate from other retailers. The men would then take the used irons to Argos with forged receipts and ask for money back or store credit. Over the years, the two men reportedly took 528 items to an Argos store demanding that they be paid back for a product they never purchased from the store in the first place.
According to a statement from the City of London police, the men would purchase “heavily discounted” Tefal irons from other retailers, and were eventually caught when a store owner raised suspicion about the pair’s activities. Police officers quickly became involved in the matter. After accessing CCTV footage from different Argos stores, police officers spotted cars belonging to both men parking outside of the stores at the same time other Tefal irons were returned.
After searching the men’s homes, police officers also discovered Argos bags containing more Tefal irons.
Even after being arrested in February, the City of London police confirmed that the men continued committing fraud and returning irons to Argos stores after being released on bail. In June, a search of their home address found bank cards linked to the fraud. A further 19 offenses were put to the two men during an interview and they were arrested and placed in custody for their repeat offenses.
Last Tuesday, Paul Mathews was jailed for three years while his son, Dean, was jailed for two years.
Imagine being arrested after being caught conducting an elaborate and very specific kind of fraud…only to go back out and do it all over again, thinking you wouldn’t get caught…
