Britain’s Most Notorious Fare Dodger Faces Jail After Dodging Over 100 Convictions
A prolific fare dodger who racked up 100 convictions could now be sent to prison after failing to pay £34,000-worth of fines.
Charles Brohiri, 29, was given a three-month jail sentence, suspended for a year, in February when he pleaded guilty to 76 charges of failing to pay for a rail ticket.
The defendant, who is originally from Hatfield in Hertfordshire, but has been homeless for years, was also convicted in his absence in August 2024 of a further 36 charges.
But at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday he admitted he has not paid any of the fines or compensation he owes ‘as of yet’.
Appearing unrepresented before District Judge Nina Tempia for an assessment of his means, Brohiri was told the consolidated amount he owes, in compensation, fines and ‘maybe victim surcharges’, is £34,486.
It follows his failure to pay fares valued at more than £3,000 for Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) train journeys between February 2024 and November last year.
Judge Tempia told Brohiri: ‘If you haven’t paid anything then you can go to prison as I warned you last time. Do you understand that?’
Brohiri confirmed he did.
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Charles Brohiri, 29, was given a three-month jail sentence, suspended for a year, in February after pleading guilty to 76 charges of failing to pay for a rail ticket. He is pictured here arriving at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in August last year
Asked why he had failed to pay the money, Brohiri told the judge his referral from probation to help him receive benefits had been ‘a bit slow’ – but insisted he would begin paying £5 a week.
Judge Tempia ordered Brohiri to start paying £5 a week from July 31, and adjourned his means inquiry until August 27.
‘£20 should have been paid when you come back on August 27,’ she said.
Previously, at Brohiri’s sentencing hearing in February, Judge Tempia had told him: ‘My view is, as is set out in the pre-sentence report, that you feel that you are invincible by committing these offences and that you see it as some sort of self-entitlement that you can get away with it.’
She also called his offending ‘brazen and persistent’.
But she added the pre-sentence report showed he has some insight into his crimes and that probation could help him.
The judge sentenced him to three months in jail, suspended for a year.
Brohiri was also told to pay back £3,629 in unpaid rail fares but was not ordered to pay the prosecution costs.
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Brohiri was spared jail during his sentencing hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in February
He was further ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work, 12 months’ prohibited activity requirement – which means he must not travel on any Govia Thameslink Railway trains – and to complete rehabilitation activity requirement.
‘Be under no illusion if you commit any other offences and you do not comply with the requirement on this order you will be back in court,’ the judge warned him.
The court was told Brohiri continued his campaign of fare dodging after being banned in April last year from entering Thameslink stations as part of his bail conditions.
His offending is said to have continued unabated, with the last allegation of fare dodging recorded on February 10 this year.
‘With the exception of the period of October, November (and) December 2024, there have been offences in every month since February 2024 to the present day,’ prosecutor Lyndon Harris said.
Eleanor Curzon, defending, told the court: ‘He has expressed remorse and regret for having continued to travel on the trains during the whole period and particularly the period when he has been appearing before you judge.’
She said the pre-sentence report found Brohiri has been facing personal troubles but ‘understood the severity of the charges’.
‘He reiterated to me this morning that if he is given the opportunity to work with probation they can assist him in securing accommodation and employment,’ Ms Curzon continued.
‘It is really these two factors which will put an end to Mr Brohiri’s offending.’
She told the court that he went to university but had to drop out and has worked as a waiter and in bars.
Asked what he has been doing in his three years of being homeless in London, Ms Curzon said Brohiri has tried to get support from charities ‘but none of it has been consistent enough’.
Brohiri now owes £34,486 in outstanding financial orders.
Govia Thameslink Railway said: ‘Fare evasion costs the railway an estimated £400million a year, directly increasing the cost to the taxpayer and diverting vital public funding away from improving services for passengers.
‘That is unfair both on taxpayers and on the vast majority of passengers who pay for their journeys.
‘We therefore take our responsibility to protect ticket revenue very seriously.
‘Through the careful use of prosecutions, targeted ticket checks, focused action at known hotspots and better reporting tools for staff, we have cut ticketless travel on our network to its lowest level since 2022.’
