Woman found guilty of fraud following private prosecution

POLICE CHOSE NOT TO INVESTIGATE DEFENDANT'S POKEMON TRADING CARD SCAM

- By RUCSANDRA MOLDOVEANU

A WOMAN defrauded a small business owner of almost £60,000 in a Pokémon trading cards scam - but police officers decided not to investigate her.

Lynsay Law, 34, of Keats Crescent, Worksop, defrauded her victim, based in Surrey, of £58,000 in late 2020 and early 2021.

Five years later, she was finally found guilty of the offence after taking payments for Pokémon cards and collectibles that were never delivered to her victim, despite Nottinghamshire Police deciding not to open a criminal investigation.

The victim, who does not wish to be named, began buying and selling the cards as a hobby before she built a successful small business operating from her home, gathering a loyal customer base through platforms such as eBay and a Facebook group with more than 1,000 members.

In late 2020 and early 2021, her usual distributor stopped supplying stock and she was introduced to Law, who pretended to be a supplier with access to high-demand Pokémon products. The communication between the two women took place remotely, mainly via Facebook Messenger, with the pair never meeting.