Shoplifting fraudster jailed for 18 months

A serial shoplifter who also defrauded a woman out of hundreds of pounds has been jailed.

Robert Anderson repeatedly targeted shops in Retford and helped himself to items from the shelves.

His thieving wasn’t limited to those offences, however, with Anderson also stealing money from a woman he knew.

The 40-year-old managed to gain access to the bank account of the elderly woman before sending himself more than £700.

Anderson’s fraudulent activities were conducted between 13 May and 6 June last year, at which point they were spotted and the police were notified. 

Following a lengthy investigation, he would go on to be charged with fraud by false representation at the end of March this year.

By that stage, Anderson, of no fixed address, had embarked on a shoplifting spree in Retford that began on 28 February and ended on 19 April.

He shoplifted on six separate occasions, with meat products his top pick during most of his shopping trips, with chocolates and clothes stolen too.

Five of these thefts were from the same Co-op store in Retford, with the town’s Home Bargains shop targeted by the thief as well.

Having analysed available CCTV from the thefts, neighbourhood policing officers managed to identify Anderson as the culprit in each.

He eventually pleaded guilty to six counts of shop theft, while admitting to the separate charge of fraud by false representation too.

Appearing before Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday (13 May), Anderson was sentenced to 18 months behind bars.

PC Corey Trench, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:

“Robert Anderson abused a position of trust by transferring money to himself from the bank account of a woman he knew.

“His decision to do that – sending himself more than £700 – amounted to fraud, so it’s pleasing to see him now sentenced for that offence.

“Not only that, however, Anderson was also responsible for multiple other thefts too, with his chosen victims on those occasions being shops in the Retford area.

“Thanks to some great work by our officers, we were able to highlight Anderson as the person responsible for the fraud he’d committed, along with the shop thefts too.

“We hope he uses the time he’ll now spend behind bars to reflect on what he’s done and change his ways.”