Woman forced to move house after Yorkshire scammers stole her ID and used it in speeding fine fraud

Three Bradford men have been jailed after they were part of a speeding ticket scam which used the identity of an innocent Scottish woman to dodge penalty points.

Courier driver Adul Kalam used the woman’s details to avoid prosecution for three speeding offences himself and went on to pull off the same scam for seven other drivers including four of his co-defendants. The 42-year-old, of New Fields Walk, was one of six defendants sentenced on Wednesday for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and he was jailed for 40 months.

Bradford Crown Court heard that on one occasion the speed camera had caught an image of a male driver in the vehicle, but Kalam returned a Notice of Intended Prosecution to the police with the woman’s details on it.

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He was also linked to several similar attempts to avoid speeding points by a handwriting expert who had analysed the returned forms containing the complainant’s personal details and address. Prosecutor Laura McBride said the woman believed her identity had been stolen while she was abroad and subsequently suffered 18 months of extreme stress.

Miss McBride said the woman received a barrage of court and police documentation relating to offences she hadn’t committed and at one point she had to go to court in West Yorkshire. The woman described the situation as “a living nightmare” and made a complaint to Police Scotland before her case was taken up by an officer in West Yorkshire.

The court heard that the officer, now retired, had almost single-handedly investigated the case and the woman described him as “amazing”. The woman, whose identity was also used in relation to other scams, eventually had to move home.

Locked up alongside Kalam were Kamran Ahmed, 43, of Wellands Terrace, Bradford, who was jailed for 28 months and 24-year-old Ayman Ahmed, of Fairfield Road, Bradford, who was sentenced to two years in prison.

The court heard that Ayman Ahmed had helped other students at Huddersfield University avoid penalty points in return for payments. He said he was in contact with “a third party” and told one student:”Give me the letter and £300 and I’ll do it.”

Two other men and a woman were given suspended prison sentences for their involvement and ordered to carry out unpaid work for the community. Judge Sophie McKone said they had all used the identity of an innocent woman to avoid penalty points and the offending struck at the heart of the criminal justice system.

Munsur Ali, 39, of Ashbourne Crescent, Bradford, was sentenced to eight months in jail, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to do 250 hours unpaid work. Alia Malik, 26, of Church Road, Normanton, also received eight months, suspended for 18 months, plus 200 hours unpaid work.

Nasser Jahangir, 24, of Meadow Park Drive, Stanningley, Leeds, was sentenced to six months, suspended for 18 months and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work.

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