The case in summary A 35-year-old man has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison for having used the identities of famous people to defraud expensive telephones and telephone subscriptions. He claimed during the trial that he worked for another man who fixed the fake IDs, but the police do not believe this story. The man has been convicted several times for theft and fraud and was permanently deported from Norway in 2012. The 35-year-old has now applied for asylum in Norway. He has stated gambling addiction as the motive for the frauds. Defender Arild Humlen believes the man should have had a bigger confession discount. The 35-year-old has been convicted of having used the credentials of, among others, Jon Almaas and Fredrik Solvang to defraud electrical shops in several places in Eastern Norway. Controversy over mastermind By pretending to be the celebrities, he has been given expensive iPhones and set up phone subscriptions. Several unknown persons have also been abused in the frauds. The man claimed during the trial that he worked for another man who fixed the fake IDs. This man also allegedly paid NOK 1,000 to the 35-year-old for each mobile phone he delivered. The defense attorney for the 35-year-old, lawyer Arild Humlen, believes the police should have done more to find the person who helped his client with the frauds. Photo: Tom Erik Haugland / news The police do not believe the story that there is a mastermind. – I am surprised that the police have not made an effort to uncover this mastermind, says the 35-year-old’s defender Arild Humlen. He believes it is obvious that the 35-year-old has not acted alone. Doesn’t look like the celebrities The 35-year-old doesn’t look like any of the celebrities he pretended to be, but was still handed the phones he asked for. Although the shop assistants did not realize the fraud, the alarm went off at Telenor’s security centre. They saw that the same procedure was used in several Elkjøp and Power shops all over Eastern Norway. Behaved boldly When the 35-year-old appeared in the Power store in Tønsberg, Telenor assumed that the next store was Elkjøp in the same town and notified the police. A patrol arrived in time and arrested the man outside the shop. Senior adviser Thorbjørn Busch at Telenor’s security department helped the police track down the 35-year-old. Photo: Jan Tore Eriksen Thorbjørn Busch in the security department at Telenor was both relieved and surprised after the arrest. – He has acted with sky-high risk when he has appeared in the shops and pretended to be famous people, Busch told news after the man was imprisoned. After the arrest, the police in Tønsberg asked other police districts to hand over cases that could concern the 35-year-old. Those of the cases that were not dismissed were included in the criminal case against the asylum seeker in Vestfold District Court. Abubakar Hussain and Galvan Mehidi in the news podcast “With all respect” were also exposed to fraud. In the case against the 35-year-old, however, only the fraud against Mehidi is included. They even joked about the case in an episode they called “We’re on the fraudsters’ list!” Is permanently expelled from Norway The 35-year-old came to Norway as a 16-year-old in 2005. In court, he told that he fled from a violent upbringing in Afghanistan. He was fined for theft five times before he received his first sentence in Norway in 2009. He was then sentenced to seven months in prison for a long series of offences. In 2012, he was permanently expelled from Norway. Nevertheless, he returned several times and received new prison sentences. The Afghan has now applied for asylum in Norway. He is still waiting for an answer. The 35-year-old has stated gambling addiction as a motive. He believes he had no other choice to raise money when he was released from his sentence in 2023. However, the court points out that the man could have received both free food and shelter by turning up at the asylum reception he had been given a place at. Receives treatment During his time in custody, the man has come into contact with a psychologist. The latter believes the man probably suffers from a pathological gambling addiction, for which he is now receiving treatment in prison. – The court understands that the gambling may have led the defendant into crime, but does not find that this excuses or explains the extensive crime for profit for which he is to be convicted, the judgment states. The asylum seeker was acquitted of tricking DNB into sending out two Visa cards, which were later used for a six-figure sum. The court believes that it is likely that the 35-year-old was behind this as well, but believes that the evidence is not sufficient to convict him of this. Verdict as expected The man has been convicted anyway for most of what he was accused of. The court believes that he has “demonstrated a fixed criminal intent and high frequency in his crime”. Deputy police officer in the South-East police district, Josefine Thoreid. determines that the length of the prison sentence was the same as she claimed. Photo: Tom Erik Haugland / news The prison sentence is in line with what police deputy Josefine Thoreid asked the court for. – I am not very surprised by the verdict. Although he was acquitted of certain records, I am satisfied with the verdict, says Thoreid to news. However, she is awaiting a possible appeal. Defender Arild Humlen reacts to the fact that the 35-year-old has not received a further sentence discount after he confessed to most of what he was charged with. – The punishment is a bit high, and I think the confession discount is a bit low, but I have to discuss that with the convicted, says Humlen to news.
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35-year-old sentenced for using celebrity identities to defraud electrical stores – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
