A couple from Bromley lived lavishly with the money they made stealing from gym lockers. Metro reported that Ashley Singh, 39, and girlfriend Sophie Bruyne, 20, stole bank and SIM cards from people's lockers while working out. The couple targeted 18 people over a year, maxing out credit cards they stole from changing room lockers.
The couple used to max out their victim's credit cards on expensive tech and designer gear, before selling them on using the cash to buy bags, shoes, holidays and a pedigree puppy, Metropolitan Police said.
On the other hand, the victims had money drained from their accounts, couldn't use their phones and suffered huge stress and financial loss.
Singh and Bruyea's fairytale took an abrupt end after a local officer realised there was a pattern and flagged it to detectives who are experts in economic crime.
A team based in Lewisham traced the couple's phones, cars and faces on CCTV - linking them to each crime.
The couple were arrested last year on January 27 at Gatwick Airport as they returned from Paris with 2,000 Euros of designer goods.
DC Luis Da Silva, from the Met's economic crime team that investigated this case, said: "We know Londoners are worried about theft. It's a horrible crime, and it causes a lot of stress, pain, and financial loss. That's why we take this crime seriously and a whole team of us were committed to catching Singh and Bruyea.
"You couldn't fail to be moved by the devastating impact their callous behaviour had on people, and we hope that catching them offers victims a little bit of solace. I would urge anyone who has had something stolen to get in touch because we do want to drive down this crime and go after those who target the public.
"We will now look to forfeit the proceeds of their crimes to try and help compensate those who went through this."
The Met police said in a release that all in all 18 people were targeted in what the sentencing judge branded a "wicked conspiracy". The judge described the impact the pair's "wide-ranging spree" had had on people, including instances where people no longer felt safe around strangers, or had suffered professionally due to the stress.
There were 18 fraud reports in total, with 14 in the Met area, one from Sussex, one from Hertfordshire and two reports from Cambridgeshire.
The pair, of Widmore Road, Bromley, were sentenced at Croydon Crown Court on Wednesday, 10 January to conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation between January 2022 and January 2023 with a total value of 250,000 Euros.
Ashley Singh was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. In contrast, Sophie Bruyea was sentenced to 20 months at a young offenders' institute, suspended for two years, a rehabilitation programme and 120 hours of unpaid work.
