A man who posed as a South Yorkshire Police officer is jailed for fraud
Michael Smith from Camden travelled from London to Rotherham in June 2023
Michael Smith, 26, of Lady Somerset Road in the Camden, London, has been jailed for fraud offences.
On 22 June 2023, Smith travelled from London to Rotherham as he took part in a scam to defraud occupants at Fernleigh Drive, and Cotswold Crescent.
The occupants were first called by a man falsely claiming to be a South Yorkshire Police officer, who told them to hand over valuable items to Smith for safekeeping.
At Fernleigh Drive, Smith, pretending to be a police officer, took bank cards and PIN numbers from a couple in their 80s.
He then attended Cotswold Crescent where he used the same trick and took jewellery worth £25,000 from a 64-year-old woman.
After committing the offences, Smith returned to London where he used the bank cards he had taken to withdraw thousands of pounds in cash.
Officers launched a courier fraud investigation when the incidents were reported. Analysis of phone records identified a number which London Probation helped to confirm was connected to Smith.
Officers traced Smith to London and arrested him – at his police interview on 12 September 2023, he provided no comment to all questions but consented to identification procedures.
Smith was positively identified by two of his victims and was interviewed for a second time on 3 October 2023, when he again provided no comment.
Smith was charged with two counts of conspiracy to defraud. He initially pleaded not guilty but changed his plea to guilty on 19 May 2025.
Smith was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday (21 May), where he was jailed for two years and eight months.
DI Joe Hackworthy, of the Financial Investigations team, said:
“I am glad that Smith will spend time behind bars for his crimes which caused unnecessary suffering for those he targeted.
“Courier fraud is a particularly destructive crime, and offenders often target the most vulnerable members of society.
“The police will never ask a member of the public for money or any bank details, either over the phone or in person. We will never ask you to hand over your valuables, whether it is jewellery, cash, bank cards or something else, to us."