Narinder Kaur, 53, from Cleverton, shoplifted on an ‘industrial scale’, returning her stolen goods all over the country which the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has described as her ‘full-time career’ between 2015 and 2019.

There was proof of her repeating this act over 1,000 times. Victims of the fraudster included Boots, who refunded her £60,787.09 and Debenhams, paying out £42,853.65, among various other high-street brands.

When the police searched her address they found £150,000 in cash, along with stolen goods waiting for return.

CCTV was used as evidence against her showing her entering stores, picking up items off the shelves and taking them to the till claiming she had purchased them but wanted a refund.

Kaur was also found to have lied multiple times in court, leading to her being charged with perversion of justice.

Giovanni D’Alessandro, senior crown prosecutor for CPS West Midlands, said: ‘Narinder Kaur used a systematic and methodical approach to manipulate situations to her advantage. She used her dishonesty to carry out the refund fraud with such frequency that it became a lucrative full-time job. 

‘She showed an almost obsessive determination to continue the offences which helped her fraudulently obtain more than half a million pounds across several years of offending. 

‘After she was caught, she changed her methods and started using other people’s credit cards to fund the lavish lifestyle she was accustomed to. She even attempted to deceive the criminal justice system. 

‘Working with police, we carefully pieced together each strand of the available information. It was only when looking at the bigger picture and patterns in play that it became clear how industrial and metronomic her offending was. Today justice has been fully served and Kaur has been punished for her crimes.’

Kaur was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for 26 offences including fraud, possessing and transferring criminal property, and perverting the course of justice.