Five men behind a football ticketing fraud scheme have been jailed.
Joseph Johnson, Louis James, Liam Rice, Lee Smith and James Johnson were involved in the operation involving tickets for Liverpool FC matches.
James and James Johnson had previously worked in the Anfield ticket office and used knowledge of the system to take advantage of it on a large scale.
The group was able to acquire the tickets before selling them on at inflated prices in secondary ticket markets and their own website, Seatfinder UK.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that the operation took advantage of a discount for local residents on match tickets and would charge up to £1,000 for them.
The illicit company overseen by James, Joseph Johnson and Rice was registered in Dubai but rented an office at St Helens College’s Kirkby campus.
Over time, the fraud was expanded to include tickets to matches involving other Premier League clubs leading to the creation of the website.
The fraud only came to light in February 2018 after a system upgrade identified patterns in ticketing purchases and alerted Merseyside Police.
Joseph Johnson, 42, from Eccleston, admitted three counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison.
James Johnson (no relation), 34, from Anfield, admitted two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and received a 21-month suspended sentence.
James, 37, admitted conspiracy to commit fraud and four others admitted the same charge two days into their trial.
Rice, 35, from Kirkby, has been sentenced to two years and 10 months for conspiracy to sell tickets fraudulently
Smith, 38, from Kirkby, admitted two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and was sentenced to two years and 10 months behind bars.
In total, the group were sentenced to a combined 12-and-a-half years on Wednesday (December 17).
A spokesperson for LFC said: “We would like to thank Merseyside Police for the tenacity and professionalism it showed in pursing this successful investigation.
“We have a zero-tolerance approach to the misuse of our tickets to protect genuine fans from being scammed. This approach applies internally as well as externally, as this case highlights.
“All supporters are reminded not to buy tickets from unofficial online channels or unofficial sellers. Details on how to purchase genuine tickets can be found on the club’s official website.”