Worksop: Fraudster Adam Moxon ‘bragged’ about being ‘intellectual’ thief after ticket scam

Adam Moxon of Elms Road, was sentenced to six months in prison at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday 26th November after pleading guilty to eight counts of fraud by false representation and one count of theft at an earlier hearing.

Moxon used his own name and Twitter account to advertise non-existent tickets for the tennis tournament at Wimbledon and Royal Ascot on the Gumtree website.

Thwe court heard that Moxon ‘bragged’ about his crimes, saying that he was a ‘calculated and intelligent’ thief who had made £3,000 the day before. On another occasion he posted a betting slip to a buyer with the word ‘sorry’ written on it.

Moxon also sent a text message to one buyer which said: “The crime you have fallen victim to is called intellectual theft.”

One victim, who did not want to be named, said: “I had seen tickets advertised on Gumtree for £300 and thought that was a reasonable price. I phoned the seller to make arrangements for negotiating the payments and collecting and receiving the tickets.”

“We agreed that I would send half the payment by post after I could not meet him at an address in Nottingham. I sent half the payment to him by recorded delivery and when he received the payment, he would send the tickets back to me where I would send the remaining £150.”

“I got an envelope in the post which I assumed were the tickets, but when I opened it, there was just a letter inside that said ‘sorry.’”

“I felt awful and humiliated. I thought I was safe in sending him the money as I saw on his social media that he had won Wimbledon tickets and was selling them as he could not attend. I just wanted to do something nice for my girlfriend’s birthday.”

Moxon also advertised wet suits for sale on website PreLoved. Unlike the tickets the wet suits did exist but at the time it came to send them to buyers they were no longer in his possession. He blamed his offences on a drug and gambling addition.

Police Constable Rebecca Withell said: “Criminals, like Moxon, have a captured market of fans that will do anything to get a ticket, which makes these type of events a prime target for fraud.”

“Cyber criminals believe they can hide in cyber space and commit their crimes without penalty but that is not true as Moxon soon discovered.”

“I hope this sentence sends out a message that Nottinghamshire Police treat cyber crime very seriously and offenders can expect to be located and sent to prison.”