A neighbor of the prolific shoplifter who made £500,000 tricking shops into giving her refunds reveals how he was always traveling somewhere else to “commit his crimes”.
The local said Narinder Kaur, 53, was “actually really lovely” and outwardly nice, but the community knew “what she really is like”.
They added that Kaur, also known as Nina Tiara and Nina Dalman, was often “on vacation” but the community believes she was actually “in prison” for “similar crimes.”
This week, Kaur was convicted on all 26 counts of an indictment that included fraud, criminal possession and transfer of property, and perversion of the course of justice.
Narinder Kaur ‘shoplifted on an industrial scale’ across the country and made over £500,000 tricking shops into handing her refunds for items she never bought
CCTV footage showed Kaur simply taking items off store shelves and taking them to the checkout to initiate a return.
Kaur lives in this house in a pretty village outside Chippenham, Wiltshire, with a new Mercedes parked in the driveway.
Kaur from Wiltshire had “made it her full-time career” stealing items from high street shops for four years before she was caught and tried at Gloucester Crown Court.
Her neighbor said that despite being a prolific criminal, she treated members of her community with kindness and did not commit crimes locally.
“She’s really lovely, she’ll always compliment you and chat, but everyone here knows what she’s really like,” the local told MailOnline last night.
But honestly, we’ve never had a problem with her here, I’m glad she’s going somewhere else to commit her crimes.
“He is often away on vacation, but he is actually in prison. He just served eight months or so, we think for similar crimes.
CCTV footage showed Kaur simply taking items off store shelves and taking them to the checkout to initiate a return.
The 53-year-old repeated this scheme hundreds of times at various stores across the UK, including Boots, TK Maxx, HomeSense and John Lewis.
It is believed that he lives in a house owned by another family member. She is also believed to have been previously married and has a son.
Public records show that Kaur has been secretary or director of at least seven companies since 1999 while living in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire.
During the trial, prosecutor Gareth Weetman He said Kaur’s crime spree was halted when police examined his credit and bank cards and found “an extraordinary history of refund payments.”
Kaur also defrauded law firms when she ordered them to sue her brother and then used male accomplices to pay compensation with stolen credit cards, which was forwarded to Kaur.
She “could not be deterred” despite being charged, and lied to the court to secure alterations to her bail conditions for medical appointments so she could steal again, the prosecutor said.
But while trying to get a refund at Dunelm in Swindon, he aroused suspicion and was arrested.
Police then searched her home and found £108,000 in cash, along with 49 shopping bags filled with goods.
Kaur had defrauded various retailers more than 1,000 times between July 2015 and February 2019, prosecutors proved after a close examination of his bank and several credit card accounts.
A neighbor in Chippenham, Wiltshire, told MailOnline today: “She’s really lovely, she’ll always compliment you and chat, but everyone here knows what she’s really like.”
But honestly, we’ve never had a problem with her here, I’m glad she’s going somewhere else to commit her crimes.
‘He is often away on ‘holidays’, but he is actually in prison. He just served eight months or so, we think for similar crimes.
The 53-year-old woman ‘made her full-time career’ stealing items from high street shops.
She was recorded on CCTV walking into stores, pulling items off shelves and taking them to the checkout counter and pretending she had previously bought them.
Kaur, who lives in a house believed to be owned by another family member, received more than half a million pounds in refunds from shops, the court heard.
He also tried to defraud Wiltshire Council by using stolen credit cards to pay for services before asking the council for refunds. She would say that she had accidentally made a payment ‘with too many zeros’.
Her scam even included a male accomplice who helped her use stolen bank card details to make payments to her own heating oil supplier.
At trial, Kaur was said to have lied to the court and produced a false document to avoid being convicted of speeding offenses and to relax bail conditions.
More than £100,000 in cash was found hidden in his home, along with stolen goods, when police searched for evidence.
CPS was able to prove the case using financial data, retail records, witness evidence, and CCTV footage.
An investigation found that Kaur carried out his scheme at Boots stores across the UK, including in Dudley, Smethwick, Droitwich and Kidderminster. He received £60,787.09 in refunds from Boots even though he only spent £5,172.73 in his stores.
The convict received £42,853.65 in refunds from Debenhams despite spending just £3,681.33.
He also conned John Lewis, visiting shops in Milton Keynes, Watford, Chester, Cardiff, Chichester, Basingstoke, Nottingham, Newbury, Exeter, Southampton, Reading, Birmingham, Tamworth and Leicester. The defendant received £33,131.61 in refunds, but only spent £5,290.36.
TK Maxx was defrauded of £14,563.53 in the scheme (Pictured: Kaur in one of his stores)
John Lewis, in a comment to MailOnline, explained that his stores have a “wide range” of measures in place to “deter and catch” thieves and scammers. These practices are also intended to protect partners and customers.
The court heard how Kaur also visited Monsoon stores, including in Telford and Shrewsbury, and claimed £23,000 more in refunds than payments made for purchases.
He then targeted House of Fraser stores, spent £2,853.55 but claimed £23,147.75 in refunds. The Birmingham store was one of many she visited.
Kaur also ripped off Homesense stores in Stafford, Shrewsbury, Cannock, Solihull and Worcester, among others. There he spent just £1,181.45 but claimed £19,540.17 in refunds.
TK Maxx was defrauded of £14,563.53, while it defrauded Homebase of £3,238.47, the CPS said.
He targeted Homebase between August 2015 and February 2019 and defrauded the company out of £3,238.47.
Kaur’s offense also saw her attempt to defraud Wiltshire Council of £7,400.
Cllr Nick Botterill, Wiltshire Council Finance Cabinet Member, told MailOnline today: ‘When a claim for a refund was made relating to the defendant’s council tax account, our staff immediately suspected fraudulent activity and made it to him. know the police.
“This element of Defendant’s financial activity was used as part of a much larger investigation into her.”
The councilor added that Wiltshire Council “lost no money” and that Kaur’s request for a refund was “rejected”.
‘As we have demonstrated in this case, we have robust measures in place to effectively deal with any potential fraudulent activity related to council tax, and we hope this will act as a deterrent to anyone thinking of trying to defraud the system and cheat honest taxpayers. ‘ he said.
MailOnline has also reached out to retailers for comment.
Kaur, was convicted by jurors of a total of 26 counts including fraud, criminal possession and transfer of property, and perversion of the course of justice.
His sentence was delivered on March 10 after a four-month trial at Gloucester Crown Court.
Now, the con man is facing jail time for his scheme and has been remanded in custody before sentencing.
The crimes occurred between July 2015 and February 2019. Prosecutors said Kaur had multiple bank and credit card accounts.
Giovanni D’Alessandro, Senior Crown Prosecutor at CPS West Midlands, said: ‘Kaur committed fraud in a long-standing and extensive manner.
“It was a very lucrative full-time job that demonstrably earned him over half a million pounds during this delinquency period.
“He went to great lengths to carry out his deceptions, finding a way to defraud a retailer and then traveling across the country to replicate the fraud.
She also legally changed her name and opened new bank accounts and credit cards under a second identity to avoid detection.
“He now rightfully faces a significant sentence for his crimes and the prosecution will seek to recover as much of his ill-gotten gains as the law allows.”