One of Britain’s most prolific fare dodgers who owes £30k spared jail | UK | News
Charles Brohiri in a photo taken outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court (Image: PA)
A prolific rail fare dodger who collected more than £30,000 in unpaid fines has avoided prison despite being convicted of 112 journey-related offenses over a two-year period. Charles Brohiri, 29, failed to pay fares worth more than £3,000 for Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) train journeys between February 2024 and November last year.
The court was told Brohiri owed outstanding financial orders totaling £31,742; this represents pre-existing debt arising from a pile of unpaid court fines and financial orders that accumulated as a result of separate cases brought against him between August 2019 and April 2025. The defendant, originally from Hatfield in Hertfordshire but who had been homeless for years, admitted 76 charges of failing to pay for tickets and was also convicted of 36 offences. Charges in his absence in August 2024.
Read more: Britain’s most persistent ticket dodger faces prison sentence after 112 convictions
Read more: ‘Britain’s worst fare dodger ignored station ban and last broke the law 2 days ago’
Charles Brohiri convicted of 112 crimes (Image: PA)
At Brohiri’s sentencing hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, district judge Nina Tempia also took into account a further 16 offences; Three of those counts were said to have been processed on Tuesday.
The judge told him: “My view, as stated in the pre-sentence report (PSR), is that by committing these offenses you felt you were invincible and you saw this as a form of self-entitlement that you could get away with it.”
He also described the attacker as “arrogant and persistent” while acknowledging that the report indicated he had some insight into his crimes and that probation might have helped him.
The judge sentenced him to three months in prison, suspended for one year.
Brohiri was also ordered to repay £3,629.60 in unpaid railway charges, but was also ordered not to pay the costs of the investigation, which the court heard amounted to £15,120.
He was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work, a 12-month prohibited activity requirement – meaning he must not travel on any GTR trains – and a rehabilitation activity requirement.
Judge Tempia warned him: “If you commit further crimes and do not comply with the requirements of this order, you will return to court.”
The court was told Brohiri – widely reported to be Britain’s most prolific ticket dodger – continued his fare evasion campaign despite being banned from Thameslink stations last April as part of his bail conditions.
Fare evasion costs £400m a year, Govia Thameslink Rail spokesman says (Image: Getty)
His offending is said to have continued unabated and his last alleged fare evasion was recorded the day before, on February 10 this year.
Prosecutor Lyndon Harris said: “Offences have occurred every month from February 2024 to the present, except for the period of October, November (and) December 2024.”
Eleanor Curzon, defending, told the court: “He expressed remorse for continuing to travel on trains throughout this period, particularly during his appearance before the judge.”
He said the pre-sentence report revealed Brohiri was facing personal problems but “understood the seriousness of the charges”.
He continued: “This morning he reiterated to me that if he was given the opportunity to work on probation, they could help him find housing and employment.
“It is actually these two factors that will bring Mr. Brohiri’s crime to an end.”
He told the court she went to university but had to drop out, working as a waitress and in bars.
Asked what he did during the three years he was homeless in London, Ms Curzon said Brohiri had tried to get support from charities but “none of them were consistent enough”.
The defendant will appear in the same court on March 29 to evaluate whether he can pay more costs.
A GTR spokesman said: “Fare evasion costs the railway an estimated £400 million a year, directly increasing the cost to taxpayers and diverting vital public funding from improving services for passengers.
“This is unfair both to taxpayers and to the vast majority of passengers who pay for their journeys.
“That’s why we take our responsibility to protect ticket revenue very seriously.
“Through the careful use of prosecutions, targeted ticket checks, focused actions in known hotspots and better reporting tools for staff, we have reduced ticketless travel on our network to its lowest level since 2022.”
