A COLEG Cambria student who pretended to be a licensed security professional has been fined in court.

On Friday, February 11, Mohammed Abdurahman, of Queensway, Wrexham, pleaded guilty to fraud at Wrexham Magistrates' Court.

The prosecution was brought by the Security Industry Authority (SIA) and he was fined £320, ordered to pay £1200 court costs and a £34 victim surcharge.

Between November 30 and December 15 of last year, Abdurahman presented himself to Chester-based security business Cynergy Security Group Ltd under the name of Ali Mohammed.

There was a discrepancy with his identity documents. Abdurahman gave the company a valid SIA licence in the name of Ali Mohammed; followed by a residence permit and a bank statement in the name of Mohammed Abdurahman.

Abdurahman failed his induction checks and Abdurahman was invited by Cynergy to supply hard copies of his identity documents, but he failed to return with them.

Cynergy, which specialises in door supervision for licensed premises, close protection, event security, retail, key holding, mobile and corporate security, approached the SIA expressing concerns, particularly about an image on the licence. The SIA started an investigation into the case.

Abdurahman failed to engage with SIA Investigators, but using an email address they were able to identify Abdurahman as a student at Coleg Cambria College.

The SIA persistently sought after Abdurahman and further investigation revealed that his student identity card matched the image on the SIA licence. He was contacted by an SIA Investigator and ‘interviewed’ using a statutory defence letter. He was subsequently summonsed to Wrexham Magistrates’ Court.

The magistrate at the court said: "This is a very serious case of fraud, this could’ve had very serious consequences for the company and industry that is highly regulated and respected. We take the matter seriously on theirs and the public’s behalf."

Mark Chapman, one of the SIA’s criminal investigation managers, said: "We appreciate the steps taken by Cynergy Security Group to notify the SIA of their concerns. Abdurahman sought to gain legitimate work in the private security industry and attempted to circumvent the safeguards in place to protect the public by fraudulently presenting himself as someone else using another’s legitimate documents.

"The licensing regime is there to protect the public and Abdurahman had not gone through the rigorous vetting and training required to be a licensed security professional. Abdurahman has now incurred fines and a criminal record due to his fraudulent activity. His conviction means that he will not be able to work in the industry."