A Lidl staff member has been found guilty of helping to scam an unsuspecting pensioner out of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Michael Sajid, 38, from Glasgow, had helped to dupe an 84-year-old woman into sending him over £300,000 of gold bullion throughout 2020.
The retiree, who had been caring for her husband at the time, had been phoned by a scammer purporting to be from the Financial Conduct Authority.
The caller convinced her she had made a fraudulent purchase on Amazon, then told her to move all her investments into another account before pushing her to buy £316,272 worth of gold.
The scammer was found guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court
PA
The 84-year-old spent the six-figure sum across three payments on seven bars of bullion between May and July 2020.
She had been instructed to buy the bullion from a woman in the Isle of Man which would “help” with the fake fraud.
The pensioner told the court: “After it was successful, I was asked to buy another three. When that had gone through I was asked to buy three more.”
But instead of turning up at the pensioner’s home, the gold bars were delivered to Sajid’s council flat in Glasgow.
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The victim had been instructed to buy the bullion from a woman in the Isle of Man (file photo)
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The victim told the court how she felt “stupid and humiliated” by the scam, adding that she “cannot believe [she] had fallen for it”.
In total, Sajid received six packages across the three-month period.
After being charged, the 38-year-old had said: “I have not f***ing received anything, I am not f***ing like this.
“Tell her f***ing family to look after her. I have not robbed an old woman.”
Sajid, a father-of-four, claimed to police he was working on shift at Lidl at the time and thus couldn’t have received the bullion.
Sajid claimed to police he was working at Lidl at the time
PA
He told officers he did “feel” for the victim, but claimed he “could not live with himself” if he had been involved.
The money paid out by the pensioner over the three-month period was eventually returned.
The scammer was found guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court of taking part with others in possessing criminal property under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
He was further convicted of letting his former home in Thornliebank, near Glasgow, be used for the delivery of the gold.
Sajid faces a sentencing hearing next month.