STAFF at a mobile phone shop rumbled a fraudster’s scam which saw him pocket 76 iPhones worth more than £34,000.

Conman Paul Dooman defrauded 38 O2 stores across the country out of the £450 iPhone 5s by faking documents and signing up to business contracts.

But he was arrested by police when he tried the scam at the Castle Quay store in Banbury on Wednesday, August 13, a recorder at Oxford Crown Court heard on Thursday last week.

The 35-year-old, from Leicester, admitted fraud by false representation and was sentenced to 24 months in prison.

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Prosecutor Matthew Walsh said the crimes had started in Leicester in January.

He said: “He was exploiting what seemed to be a loophole in their due diligence when they were carrying out checks on new customers. He was able on each outing to arrange a business account with O2. He also obtained on all but one occasion two brand new iPhone 5s as part of the contract.”

The lawyer said Dooman used forged company bank statements, adding: “The company name varied on which store he went to and who he was pretending to be.”

But Mr Walsh said Dooman had claimed he was only paid £50 for each phone he got by those behind the scam and refused to give police names.

Recorder Rupert Lowe, sentencing, said he would take into account Dooman’s guilty plea and his desire to gain qualifications and work for a living. He said: “The purpose of a company like O2 is to do business, not to catch criminals.

“They do not have a loophole. You deliberately defrauded them.”