Sob story con man who targeted elderly jailed

Image source, Nottinghamshire Police

Image caption, Arfan Choudry was caught by plain-clothed officers last week

A con man who targeted older people with false hard luck stories has been jailed.

Arfan Choudry told people he had been in hospital, was sick and needed money for a taxi, promising them that he would pay them back, Nottinghamshire Police said.

Most of the victims were aged 70 and over, in the Basford, Wollaton, the Arboretum, and Forest Fields areas of Nottingham.

The 49-year-old, of no fixed address, appeared at Nottingham Magistrates鈥 Court on Monday and admitted 11 counts of fraud by false representation.

He was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison.

Between October 2022 and January 2023 Choudry took amounts of cash ranging from 拢19 to 拢40 on each occasion, the force said.

He was arrested by plain-clothed officers in Forest Fields on 3 February.

A spokesperson for Nottinghamshire Police, said 鈥渘o member of the public deserves to be treated in this way and have their hard-earned money stolen from them".