Scammer helped speeding drivers dodge penalty points

The ringleader of a speeding fine scam which helped more than a dozen drivers to avoid penalty points has been jailed.

Khuram Yaqoob provided false names and addresses on behalf of drivers who were trying to escape prosecution for a speeding penalty, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Yaqoob, of Bawtry Road in Doncaster, received thousands of pounds in exchange for his services, with the criminal scheme running between June 2017 and December 2019.

A further 18 drivers were sentenced on Tuesday and Wednesday after either admitting or being convicted of perverting the course of justice.

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathon Rose, described Yaqoob as “the central figure and ringleader” in the conspiracy.

The scam was only rumbled in 2019 when he was arrested in relation to firearms offences and his mobile phone revealed details of the scam.

Yaqoob, 35, was jailed for three years and four months after admitting conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Among the other drivers sentenced were 46-year-old Russell Bland, of Waterwheel Rise, Lockwood, Huddersfield, who paid more than £200 for his speeding points to “go away”.