A shameless fraudster went on an hour-long rant on TikTok where be boasted he "beat the bookies" just hours after appearing in court.
Michael Shaw, 38, of Aylward Place, Bootle, appeared alongside his brother, Paul Shaw, 39, at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, March 15 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation for offences between September 2017 and May 2018. Ian Harris, prosecuting, explained the brothers committed 21 offences targeting gaming machines in pubs and bookies by using modified and laminated £20 notes to create fraudulent credits.
In total, the two men stole £15,258.90 from various pubs and bookies in West Derby, Liverpool City Centre, Birkenhead, Woodchurch, Wallasey, Formby, Southport and Birkdale. Both men were interviewed in January and April 2018 and made no admissions, and were released under investigation.
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But on February 15, Michael Shaw pleaded guilty to the offences. Hours after his appearance he went on a long rant and boasted on TikTok live about how he was "the bookies fraudster" and that he had "beat the bookies."
He told his 70,000 TikTok followers: "Yous don't understand, £15k they're doing us for, for a nine month run around Merseyside, 21 places. It's a result. It was a sophisticated operation and they think I'm the ring leader.
"I'll take that all day, I'll be the ring leader." He then laughed to the camera.
He continued: "What will be will be you know what I mean. It's a cat 4A fraud, but it's the conspiracy what's sort of the bad thing. If the conspiracy weren't there it would just be fraud – wouldn't even go to jail for that.
"I'm sorry I done it, and I should never have done it. If I could go back in time."
When asked by a follower if he had "honestly done it" he said: "Yeah I did, I done it. Bookies rob from us, so I couldn't give a f**k mate.
"There's no shame in this, I don't feel embarrassed at all [about] what I done, I don't care. It's not defrauding vulnerable people, nothing like that, it's taking off of the bookies. And people really, really, need to understand this, the bookies rob from us."
At the time Michael Shaw went on to say he would go into what happened in more detail once he was sentenced.
He said: "If I go to jail when I get out I will talk about it… or I might have a phone in jail so i'll just do the TikTok in jail", before clarifying he was "only messing".
Later on in the video he said: "It's not a bad crime, it's something where you can actually hold your head high. I beat the bookies. I didn't go with ballys [balaclavas] on with f*****g guns going "give me all your money". I didn't do all that, I didn't go in with crowbars opening f*****g machines.
"I f*****g beat the bookies. I beat the bookies, not a lot of people can say that. I beat the motherf*****s who rob off all of us."
"People think I'm mad talking on social media about it, but why? I've pleaded guilty. I'm guilty. They had us."
Paul Shaw has 51 previous convictions for 74 offences, many of which were related to dishonesty and most recently, two charges relating to domestic violence. Michael Shaw has 20 previous convictions for 30 offences, including one count of possession of an offensive weapon, five relating to breaches of court orders, and six dishonesty convictions.
Lloyd Morgan, defending Paul Shaw, said his client did have remorse for his crime, despite conclusions made by the prosecution service that he did not. Charles Lander, defending Michael Shaw, said he understood his client was now in a more difficult position, because of his “drunken rants”.
He said: “My client understands that the remorse he has displayed has been completely undermined by what he did on TikTok. In that TikTok, he did say ‘I'm sorry I done it, and I should never have done it. If I could go back in time’.
“He apologises profusely for those comments, and when it was brought to my attention the next morning, he immediately asked me how he could go about apologising.” Mr Lander then detailed that his client has been living “a better way of life” shown to him by his partner, in the years since this offending.
He also detailed the fraudster had been diagnosed with bipolar and anxiety. In sentencing, Judge Garrett Byrne said: “It was a well planned and thought out fraud and a well planned course of conduct over a prolonged course of time”.
Paul Shaw was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment. Addressing Michael Shaw, Judge Byrne said: “Upon leaving court you went on social media and posted what I understand to be a live hour long TikTok show.
“This was reported by the Liverpool Echo and it would have been seen by many people as I understand you have over 70,000 followers. It completely undermines the statements of remorse that you make now.
“The court must consider not what a man says but what a man does. It undermines that you were living a better life completely and shows an utter lack of remorse and lack of understanding of the harm that this offending causes to businesses.”
Judge Byrne sentenced Michael Shaw to 16 months imprisonment. After he was sentenced, he put his head in his hands and shook his head, before turning to his partner seated at the back of the court and saying “16 months”.
During proceedings, he repeatedly buried his head in his hands and looked back at his partner. Upon hearing his brother’s sentence, Paul Shaw said: “How the f**k? That is bulls**t”, and looked in disbelief.
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