Will I go to prison

[user1496147688]

Hi,
So I’m 19 years old and I got caught with fraudulent receipts.
So I created fake receipts, with stolen items on them. Then these items were returned by me and someone else. It would at least be £200 worth of this. I told them I had done it because they had CCTV of everything and it was so clear I couldn’t deny it. They called the police and said that the police would come to my house or call me soon which could be any day. Maybe today, tomorrow, weeks, I don’t know.
This is the first time I would be in trouble with the police, and I go to college.
Would I be sent to prison for this or what else would happen?

Wow a lot of nasty people are on this thread.
You never know what situation you or a loved one might end up in.Plenty of people with criminal records go onto having good jobs, not just ending up doing manual work. Dont listen to people who dont know what they are on about OP.

You won’t go to prison though maybe it would help if you did then maybe you would understand that what you did is not exceptable, you don’t seem that sorry. You will now have a criminal record, you might also get your name in the local paper and you will struggle to find another job. Was it really worth it for £200??

I'm just worried about going to prison or a criminal record because I'm still in college Not THAT worried, obviously!

I have a 19 year old. I would say the same to him.

@Rudgie47 I wouldn't have sympathy for family members or friends if they found themselves in this situation. It would be their own stupid fault and I'd never trust them again. I've cut ties with a couple of thieves who were once my friends and I've never felt bad about that. Fuck them and their dishonesty.

You'll get a fine (probably) and yes you will have a criminal record.

You'll need to declare the conviction for , I think, 5 years after which it will be considered "spent".

It may show up on criminal record checks after that date if you're applying for jobs where such a check is a requirement of employment and your theft/fraud conviction is considered relevant.

As time goes by the (eg 10, 20 years from nkw) it will be considered less relevant as long as you've been of good character from this point onwards.

andrewofogg yes typo there - duty solicitor it should say!

You will get some brownie points for admitting it and for showing remorse for your actions. If the police decide to deal with it then you won't have to go to court. For minor offences it is easier/cheaper for them to not go to court.

A quick google shows that a woman in Plymouth was given a 12 month community order and 100 hours of unpaid work , for a similar crime but she denied it, so probably why it went to court.

As some PP have said, you know you have done wrong, and you are still young and have time to turn this around. A caution would remain on the DBS check for 6 years, then should be filtered out.

OP, fingers crossed that you get a caution and nothing else.

Did the other person know you were stealing, or did you get someone innocent involved in your scam. What does your mum say about this, are you sorry for what you did or just worried about the consequences.

I known its beside the point, but did it not cross your mind that it might be better to go to a different store to return them?

I don't get the impression she isn't remorseful, I do get the impression she is scared witless. I think in this situation asking advice from a bunch of strangers is the least helpful thing she can do to try and calm herself down, none of us knows the full story and the whys so it's very easy for us to be judgemental. If this were my daughter I would say, you silly ass, then give her the biggest hug and tell her we would work it out together. On the 'crime' spectrum, this is low value against an organisation not an individual, it was madness but for those thinking a spell in the slammer will teach her a lesson, have some empathy.

know it's

I hate this tablet.

Very much doubt you'll go to prison.

But as others have said you will have a criminal record for theft/fraud. No employer in their right mind is going to take you on in a position which requires cash handling or accounts. So no retail, restaurant work.

Any conviction will show up forever on an enhanced disclosure. So it might not rule you out from working with children or in the NHS, but you'll still be explaining it when you're 60.

I also think there's a big difference between someone taking something on the spur of the moment as a one-off and regretting it to what OP has done - premeditated fraud, with someone else as an "accomplice", and abusing her position to create false receipts and process dodgy refunds. That's a whole other level.

Did you post about your parents hitting you, are the things connected somehow

You will get a criminal record - and you'll probably struggle to get a retail position for the foreseeable future as whether or not you declare said criminal record, your previous employer is hardly going to give you a glowing reference. Surely you could see the risks (not to mention how morally wrong it is) before you committed the crime?

A caution would remain on the DBS check for 6 years, then should be filtered out.

Not on an enhanced disclosure. Everything is shown. Forever.

A lot of call centres require dbs/credit checks now.

One of my employees stole £1000 from us (stupidly made out a cheque to himself!!!). He didn't go to prison but got a criminal record and obv lost his job. We were really pissed off that we had to still pay him his wages despite the fact he'd stolen from us and broken our trust (very small business at that time - just him, my husband and 1 other).

You won’t go to jail at all. Don’t worry too much. You did something stupid. You’ll learn from it.
You might be looking at a fine and a community order.

I think people are being far too harsh on op

Minimising isn’t helpful.

Wow a lot of nasty people are on this thread
You never know what situation you or a loved one might end up in

What a strange thing to say; after all I'd imagine many of us on here have faced our own difficulties from time to time without choosing to steal

And the PP was right; the deliberate and premeditated stealing is bad enough, but what may really stymie future employment is the issue that it was theft from an employer

There's always self employment I guess, but if applying for anything else it's worth remembering that's there are usually other candidates to choose from who haven't got a record - and then not complaining when they're picked instead

I'm not sure in this day and age that the police will even turn up. You may be lucky.

Rudi, I've known people who've committed similar (although less organised and pre-planned) and I said the same to them.

This wasn't just run of the mill pocketing something to sell out of desperation (which I still don't agree with, this was premeditated and planned out to commit fraud as well as theft.

If someone is sly enough to think up and try to pull this off then I wouldn't trust or have sympathy for them.

Sounds like this course is going to be little use to you anyway.

What a bloody stupid thing to do.