South Shields fraudster spared jail after posting Apple MacBook laptop up for sale on Gumtree

Andrew Spearman, 44, of Henderson Road, South Shields, put the Apple MacBook laptop up for sale on the Gumtree website, a court heard.

It snagged a female buyer who sent £625 to his registered bank account on the expectation he would put it in the post.

Instead, Spearman failed to have it delivered on Saturday, March 25, 2017 – and soon afterwards withdrew and pocketed the cash.

The former supermarket security guard has now been criticised by a judge for denying his involvement in the scam.

He had pleaded not guilty to fraud by false representation but was found guilty after a trial earlier this year.

Sentencing Spearman, District Judge Sarah Griffiths handed him a 26-week jail term, suspended for 18 months.

She said: “When I read the file, the evidence against you was overwhelming.

“It’s clear that there was an account set up, advertising an Apple MacBook for sale.

“[The victim] made contact and made some inquiries about that item and it was then agreed she would pay a sum for that item.

“She made a payment to the account that she was given which was your bank account number and sort number.

“She was told that you would check that payment had been made and then the MacBook would be dispatched.

“The bank confirmed that afterwards your card was used to withdraw money from that account.

“The evidence was overwhelming, and you just continue to deny this.

“For you to say you’ve been convicted on your previous convictions is completely false.

“It concerns me that you continue to say that you’re innocent of this offence when all the evidence says that you were guilty.

“There was significant planning. This was not a spur of the moment thing, this was something that you’ve set out to do."

Amy Lamb, defending, said: “It’s one victim on one occasion.

“As you can see from his record, he’s not been in trouble for some considerable time.”

Spearman was ordered to repay his victim in full and he must do 180 hours of unpaid work and complete 10 days of rehabilitation work with the Probation Service.

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