Thameslink worker, 29, stole £277,000 by hacking the rail firm’s computer to ‘trick’ it into thinking it was producing tickets, court hears
- Mohammed Rahman, 29, worked as a ticket office clerk at Cricklewood station
- Court heard he used a sophisticated code that ‘tricked’ the company computer
- Rahman denies one count of fraud and one count of theft by an employee
A Thameslink ticket officer hacked the company computer to swindle £277,000, a court heard.
Mohammed Rahman, 29, is said to have exploited a weaknesses in the system while working as a ticket office clerk at Cricklewood station.
He pocketed the cash between 30 September 2017 and 1 November 2018 by using a sophisticated code that ‘tricked’ the computer into thinking it had produced tickets when in fact it had not, prosecutors claim.
He is also accused of stealing a mobile phone belonging to Govia Thameslink Railway between 17 September 2018 and 18 December 2018.
Ticket officer clerk Mohammed Rahman who is accused of hacking into the Thamselink computer to fleece the company of £277,000 and stealing a phone from the company
The 29-year-old appeared in court today wearing a black coat over a blue shirt and spoke to confirm his name and address.
He denied the fraud and theft allegations during the brief hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
Suleman Hussain, prosecuting, said Rahman had created ‘manual overrides’ to circumvent the computer system and had pocketed the profits.
He said: ‘The defendant worked at the time as a ticket office clerk and between 30 September and 1 November 2018 he had stolen a total amount of £277,000.
‘He created manual overrides circumventing the computer and tricking it into thinking it had produced tickets.
‘In short, tickets were produced by cheating the machine’s ticket systems.’
Rahman, who denies one count of fraud and one count of theft, worked at Cricklewood station
The prosecutor said the allegations against Rahman were too serious to be dealt with in a magistrates court.
He said: ‘This is a case where the Crown say the matter is not suitable for summary trial.’
Rahman, of Ainsworth Way, Camden, is charged with fraud by abuse of position and theft by an employee.
He was bailed ahead of a preliminary hearing at Inner London Crown Court on 23 September.