Narinder Kaur, 54, has been sentenced to ten years in prison after being found guilty of 26 counts of fraud, money laundering, and perverting the course of justice. Kaur, also known as Nina Tiara, from Chosen Hill in Cleverton, near Malmesbury, received her sentence today at Gloucester Crown Court.
The judge described Kaur’s dishonesty as being of an Olympian scale and stated that her home was a treasure trove of criminal proceeds.
Kaur travelled extensively across the country, stealing from well-known high street stores and dishonestly claiming refunds on those items. Between July 2015 and September 2019, it is estimated that she netted around £2,000 worth of refunds per week, equating to over half a million pounds in fraudulent refunds and stolen goods. While under investigation for these offences, she embarked on a scheme to defraud other businesses using dishonestly obtained credit card details of members of the public.
Steve Tristram, a fraud investigator from West Mercia Police’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “This sentence today sends out a clear message that West Mercia Police will deal seriously with prolific fraudsters. Kaur is a calculated individual who committed offences across the country, dishonestly claiming refunds on items she had stolen. She showed no remorse for her actions and even thought she would get away with submitting false documents to the court with the intention of perverting the course of justice.
“West Mercia Police took ownership of the investigation into Narinder Kaur in 2018. Working with National Business Crime Solution, an organization representing retailers, and other police forces as a multi-agency approach, we were able to investigate further into her criminal activity and found fraudulent activity in her bank accounts which subsequently brought her to justice.”
Kaur first came to Wiltshire Police’s attention in 2016 for theft. A joint investigation between Wiltshire and West Mercia in August 2020 led to the seizure of over a thousand items suspected to be criminal property from her home near Malmesbury.
Kaur was further arrested in October 2020 by Wiltshire Police when she attempted to fraudulently return items for a refund in Dunelm, St Margaret’s Retail Park, Swindon. Hundreds of items were seized from her property, including more than £113,800 in cash and dozens of gift cards.
During the joint investigation, Kaur was also arrested for witness intimidation when she threatened to sue Dunelm staff if they made witness statements to the police. Despite being on court bail, the offences continued, and Kaur was arrested in May 2021 for attempting to fraudulently return stolen items to Asda stores in both Melksham and Swindon.
A third search of her home address recovered a further £38,000 in cash, concealed beneath a water heater.
Kaur was also arrested by Wiltshire Police on several occasions for breaching her court-issued bail by entering stores she had been instructed by the court not to and failing to adhere to curfew times.
Detective Inspector Tom Straker said: “As most of us went to work, Kaur carried out crime as her profession. She traveled up and down the country earning a living as a professional shoplifter and a prolific fraudster and attempted to evade detection by using around 17 alias names.
“In an effort to derail investigations, Kaur attempted to intimidate both police staff and public witnesses, but thanks to the determination and professionalism of our officers, and the cooperation of the public, I am pleased that she will be behind bars for some time.”
