A “prolific” fraudster has been jailed for two years for making over £45,000 in credit card scams.

Deep Mann, 28, of South Park Road, Ilford, scammed several small businesses out of thousands to fund his taste for luxury goods.

He was arrested in January and charged with seven counts of fraud in April.

On Monday, 26 June, he was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty in the face of overwhelming evidence against him.

Between September 2015 and January 2016, Mann used fraudulently obtained credit card details from American nationals.

Using their details, he bought luxury goods from various shops and small businesses in Redbridge, Ealing, Merton, Bromley, Redbridge, Essex and Hertfordshire.

His long list of expensive purchases, bought over the telephone, included washing machines, tumble driers, household electrical goods, bathroom suites, alloy wheels, tiles and wood flooring.

Once the card details were taken, Mann contacted unsuspecting courier services to collect the goods and met up with them at various locations away from his home address.

Ealing officers were alerted to one of the frauds by a business in the borough when a card holder called their bank to query purchases.

An investigation was launched by Ealing CID who discovered Mann’s illegal activities by following up a series of leads.

On January 29, Mann was seen meeting up with a courier at an Ilford roadside before taking delivery of goods and loading them into another van.

They searched Mann’s van and found a £1,300 bath purchased with one of the credit cards. He was arrested for fraud by false representation.

A search of Mann’s home address revealed purchases made by him in excess of £45,000.

As Mann has no assets, the court was unable to order him to repay the victims. Instead, the court ordered Mann to sell any future assets he may possess up to the value of £45,000.

Detective Sergeant Lee Hand said: "This was a fantastic result, which has seen a prolific fraudster who scammed lots of innocent people taken out of circulation.

"His thoughtless offences affected small businesses who could not afford to take such a financial hit and are now having to recoup loss of earnings.”