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Walsall schoolboy in car insurance fraud has his sentence slashed

A Walsall schoolboy who was locked up for a 'remarkably sophisticated' fake insurance fraud has saw his sentence slashed by appeal judges.

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Azeem Mahmood Hussain, 19, of Broadway West, used online adverts to con victims into paying for non-existent car insurance policies.

He made almost £4,000 from the scam, which he carried out when he was only 16-years-old and still at school.

But it was not until last month that he was finally sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court to 12 months youth custody for four frauds.

However, three senior judges at the Court of Appeal said not enough account had been taken of his young age at the time.

And there was evidence that Hussain had turned his life around in the three intervening years. He had obtained qualifications and a job and now wants to go on to higher education, the London court was told.

Cutting the term to eight months, Lord Justice Hamblen said 'significant allowance' should have been given for his youth.

"This is a case where the offence was so serious that only a custodial sentence could be justified," he said.

"However, we do consider that a less long custodial term was called for."

The court heard Hussain's frauds came to light after complaints from duped customers in 2013.

One had paid for insurance for his Honda Civic, but found his documents were fake when he was stopped by police in Northern Ireland. Another victim had paid out about £1,700 for insurance for members of his family, but discovered the fraud when his son had an accident the very next day.

Investigations showed thousands of pounds had passed through Hussain's bank accounts, with about £3,700 taken from 18 victims. At the Crown Court last month, the fraud was described as 'remarkably sophisticated' for someone so young.

His lawyers argued today that he is now a much more mature and responsible person.

He is likely to serve half of his eight-month sentence before release.

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