February 5, 2020 11.38 am This story is over 49 months old

Lincoln man caught with £5k of fake notes

He used one in a shop to buy a watermelon and a bar of chocolate
Omarr Koroma was caught with fake money.

A Lincoln man who used a fake £50 note to buy shopping from a High Street store was caught when he returned to the same shop two days later to try and repeat the scam.

Omarr Koroma used the counterfeit note to buy a watermelon and a bar of chocolate from the Rayan convenience store despite the cashier challenging him over the validity of the banknote.

Koroma convinced her it was a genuine note but two days later went back to the same shop and tried to pay again with a fake £50 note.

Tom Heath, prosecuting, said that the owner had looked at CCTV from the previous incident and when he recognised Koroma police were called.

Mr Heath said: “The defendant was detained at the shop until the police arrived. Two more £50 notes fell from Koroma’s jacket pocket and were seized.

“Later a search was carried out at the defendant’s home in Trent View. They found further fake notes to a value of £5,000.”

Koroma, 31, of Trent View, Ermine West, Lincoln, admitted charges of possession of a counterfeit £50 note and a having custody or control of a number of counterfeit £50 notes in May 2018.

He also admitted failing to answer to bail on an earlier occasion. He was jailed for 12 months.

Neil Sands, in mitigation, said Koroma bought the notes on the internet and thought of them as a novelty item.

“His foolishness was taking them out of his house. He had no idea just how much trouble he was getting himself into. He is a foolish and chastened man.”