iPhone Fraud Ring Smashed: Fake Tourists Jailed, Deported
Four Arab nationals — two brothers and their two sisters — have been sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to be permanently deported from Bahrain for orchestrating a delivery scam while posing as tourists.
The Criminal Court found that the group entered the country under the guise of tourism but had in fact planned a coordinated operation to fraudulently obtain high-value electronics, including the latest iPhone models.According to the case file, one member of the group would place an order through a delivery app, another would receive the item, and a third would cancel the order while it was still en route — triggering an automatic refund from the platform. In the confusion that followed, the ordered item would be stolen.
The group used fake delivery addresses to avoid detection and moved around in a rental car booked under one of the sisters' names. During each incident, they staged an argument to distract the delivery driver and make off with the goods.
Their plan unravelled when they attempted to collect another phone from a business in Manama using the same tactic. Police, acting on earlier complaints, apprehended the group and found several unopened phones in their possession. Investigators confirmed the suspects had no means to pay for the devices and linked them to similar scams carried out across the city. Though the delivery company later reached a private settlement with the group, the court rejected any withdrawal of the complaint, stating that such agreements have no bearing on criminal liability.
In its ruling, the court said the four had deliberately exploited Bahrain's hospitality, entered with the intent to commit theft, and caused harm to businesses. It stressed that a strong deterrent was necessary in light of the premeditated nature of the offences. The defendants will be deported upon completing their prison terms.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Insider
2 days ago
- Gulf Insider
Teacher Guilty Of Swindling Funds
A school teacher who forged receipts for classroom supplies to pocket BD274 in petty cash has been sentenced to three years in prison. He was fined BD500 and ordered to repay the full amount, down to the last 35 fils. The court also ordered his deportation once the sentence is served and ordered the confiscation of the forged material. The First High Criminal Court found the 44-year-old Arab defendant guilty of swindling funds from his workplace over the course of 2023 and 2024. Scheme Working at a primary school, he carried out the scheme with the help of a well-meaning cashier who unknowingly processed fake invoices the teacher had submitted. He claimed to have covered expenses for design and technology supplies using his own receipts told a different story. Some were invented from scratch while others were genuine but tampered with. Money He used the papers to withdraw sums in cash from the school and kept the money for himself. Investigators found receipts for BD49.500, BD45.540, BD47.300, BD3.960, BD2 and BD22.250. In one case, he added a zero to an invoice for BD1, turning it into ten. In another, he rewrote a BD45 receipt. Some of the goods listed had in fact been returned to the shop, yet the money was still paid out. Fraud The fraud came to light after the Education Ministry's risk and audit unit noticed irregularities in the petty cash accounts. A review team examined the paperwork and picked out seven receipts linked to the teacher. All were found to be fake or altered. One shopkeeper confirmed that several of the receipts bearing his store's name had never been issued by him. Records The layout, paper and details did not match his records. He confirmed six of them were said the teacher knew full well what he was doing. He submitted the papers to make off with school funds and got away with it for months. His actions, they said, involved both theft and forgery. Also read: Bahraini Companies Warned Over Fake Tender Email Scam
Daily Tribune
2 days ago
- Daily Tribune
Teacher guilty of swindling funds
A school teacher who forged receipts for classroom supplies to pocket BD274 in petty cash has been sentenced to three years in prison. He was fined BD500 and ordered to repay the full amount, down to the last 35 fils. The court also ordered his deportation once the sentence is served and ordered the confiscation of the forged material. The First High Criminal Court found the 44-year-old Arab defendant guilty of swindling funds from his workplace over the course of 2023 and 2024. Scheme Working at a primary school, he carried out the scheme with the help of a well-meaning cashier who unknowingly processed fake invoices the teacher had submitted. He claimed to have covered expenses for design and technology supplies using his own money. The receipts told a different story. Some were invented from scratch while others were genuine but tampered with. Money He used the papers to withdraw sums in cash from the school and kept the money for himself. Investigators found receipts for BD49.500, BD45.540, BD47.300, BD3.960, BD2 and BD22.250. In one case, he added a zero to an invoice for BD1, turning it into ten. In another, he rewrote a BD45 receipt. Some of the goods listed had in fact been returned to the shop, yet the money was still paid out. Fraud The fraud came to light after the Education Ministry's risk and audit unit noticed irregularities in the petty cash accounts. A review team examined the paperwork and picked out seven receipts linked to the teacher. All were found to be fake or altered. One shopkeeper confirmed that several of the receipts bearing his store's name had never been issued by him. Records The layout, paper and details did not match his records. He confirmed six of them were forged. Prosecutors said the teacher knew full well what he was doing. He submitted the papers to make off with school funds and got away with it for months. His actions, they said, involved both theft and forgery.
Daily Tribune
3 days ago
- Daily Tribune
Care worker to face trial for ‘abusing' disabled children
A man working at a care centre for children with disabilities is to stand trial for alleged abuse, after being caught on camera mistreating those in his charge, the Public Prosecution announced yesterday. Prosecutors said the suspect, a national of an unnamed Arab country, has been referred to criminal court following an investigation triggered by a complaint from the Ministry of Social Development. Inspectors from the ministry, carrying out a routine visit to the rehabilitation facility, reported that the worker was seen mishandling the children physically and emotionally. He was tasked with looking after young people with disabilities at the centre. The prosecution took up the matter without delay. Testimonies were taken from the ministry's inspection officer and the head of the centre. Security footage was also reviewed, and was said to capture scenes of abuse. The defendant was questioned, and following the inquiry, the case was passed to the criminal courts for trial.
