A fraudster with a taste of high end luxury watches was caught red handed as he attempted to scam jewellery stores in Norwich.   

Dinesh Bhindi, 52, used fake documents to obtain financial credit to purchase expensive watches worth more than £15,000.  

But his ruse was foiled when staff at Ernest Jones were tipped off by someone whose identity he had stolen that he wasn’t who he claimed to be. 

Norwich Magistrates’ Court was told similar scams had seen him steal jewellery and watches with price tags in the tens of thousands. 

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Bhindi, of Beaudesert Road, Handsworth Wood in Birmingham, was given a 44-week jail sentence suspended for 18 months at Dudley Magistrates' Court in August for buying watches with fraudulent credit.  

Eastern Daily Press: Bhindi also targeted Beaverbrooks in Chantry Place where he tried to buy another luxury watch Bhindi also targeted Beaverbrooks in Chantry Place where he tried to buy another luxury watch (Image: Newsquest)

In Norwich he targeted both Ernest Jones and Beaverbrooks in Chantry Place shopping centre where he attempted to steal watches worth £6,600 and £5,215. 

Nicola Lamb, prosecuting, said: “This is an organised enterprise that involved a significant amount of planning. There are other areas countrywide where he has undertaken the same type of fraud.”

Police were called when he attempted to use a fake driving licence in the name of Daniel Hickling. 

“He was detained and then arrested when staff were alerted to the fraud by Mr Hickling that it was not him who applied for this credit,” she said. 

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Appearing via video link, Bhindi pleaded guilty to three charges of fraud by false representation. 

District Judge David Wilson sentenced him to a further eight week imprisonment to be consecutive to his existing suspended sentence. 

The court was told part of that sentence is a curfew that bans him from going more than 2.5 miles from his home, a condition that prevented him travelling to Norwich to be sentenced in person.