UK's WORST ever shoplifter raked in £500k to splurge on cars, gold and second home by exploiting little-known loophole | The Sun

THE UK's worst ever shoplifter raked in £500,000 to splurge on cars, gold and a second home by exploiting a little-known loophole.

Nina Tiara, 53, worked as a professional scammer for four years between 2015 and 2019.


A shocking six-day-a-week operation saw the crook drive up and down the country tricking high street stores out of thousands of pounds.

The single mum, originally from Wolverhampton, used sneaky ways to bag herself half-a-million pounds – which police found some of in her mattress.

Tiara's deception started when she was just 15 and paved the way for her lifestyle.

Her plan involved exploiting retailer's policies on exchanges.

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Most stores don't typically give cash for items returned without areceipt.

However, Tiara would walk in with a branded carrier bag and slip something in without people seeing.

Without leaving, she would then pick up a different item of a similar price before heading to the till.

Taking out the item she'd just put in the bag, Tiara would tell the salesperson she wanted to return it – but had lost her receipt.

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Gloucester Crown Court heard the criminal would sometimes rummage around in her handbag pretending to look for it.

Her devious ways then saw her ask for an exchange before adding another item to her basket.

The extra item would mean the price of the initial item she wanted to 'return' would be less than what she was 'buying'.

The switch was then made with the new items being added to a receipt.

Tiara would then drive to another branch with her proof of purchase, claiming a full cash refund.

Fraud investigator Stephen Tristram, of West Mercia Police, told the Mail: "She was making, on average, over £2,000 a week.

"She was caught quite a few times in the early stages.

"But she is very clever; a very, very manipulative woman.

"She learned from her mistakes."

Tiara's first brush with the law was as a teen.

She was sentenced to five months in youth custody for setting up a fake sponsored walk.

And at the age of 21, she was found guilty of a £72,000 mortgage fraud and stealing £27,000 from her employers.

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With the money she bought a £13,000 BMW.

A four-month trial recently ended and found Tiara guilty of 26 separate charges of fraud, possessing and transferring criminal property and perverting the course of justice.

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