Serial ticket scammer from Glasgow conned friends

Glasgow Times

4 hours ago

Iain Glen claimed he had highly sought-after briefs for gigs by music superstars such as Harry Styles, Calvin Harris and Justin Bieber.
The 37-year-old also insisted he had VIP tickets for a meet and greet with former Rangers stars.
But his victims called in the police after eventually realising they had been duped by Glen.
It led to him appearing in the dock at Glasgow Sheriff Court last week.
He pleaded guilty to defrauding five victims a total of £1,665 in a year-long scam.
Glen, of the city's Townhead, could have faced a jail term.
But Sheriff Anna Reid instead ordered him to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work as punishment.
The con ran between February 2022 and January 2023.
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Emma McShane was his first victim after getting in touch for tickets for ex-One Direction star Styles.
She paid £400 and Glen then said he would post the briefs through her letterbox on the day of the concert.
But, he later stated there had been an unexpected issue.
Fiscal Leo McGinn told the court: "He said he would provide a refund and in the following days he gave various excuses as to why he did not.
"A partial refund was eventually given to Miss McShane."
Glen was also contacted by Nicola Drummond on Instagram about a Calvin Harris gig.
Miss Drummond sent Glen £100 to Glen's bank account but the tickets never appeared.
It was only after she alerted police that the scammer refunded the £100.
The court heard Glen's school friend Michaela Barr bought four tickets for the TRNSMT music festival in Glasgow.
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She coughed up £290 - but Glen bizarrely then claimed briefs were only provided on a "first come, first served basis".
Miss Barr had to try and get her cash back instead from her bank.
Stephanie Delaney - another ex-schoolmate - sent him £130 for a couple of Justin Bieber tickets.
Fiscal Mr McGinn: "He provided a number of excuses and never received a refund."
Glen eventually coughed up just £50.
The court heard Nicola Cragg - a friend of seven years - was another he swindled.
She had contacted him to buy six tickets costing £745 for a "VIP football event" at Glasgow's Hilton Hotel featuring a number of ex-Rangers stars.
The cash was transferred to Glen's PayPal account.
But, Mr McGinn said: "Miss Cragg became suspicious in August 2022 and asked Glen to confirm the venue of the event.
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"Glen said there had been a mix-up with the tickets, that part of the event had been cancelled and £300 was owed to her."
The briefs did show up on Miss Cragg's Ticketmaster account - but she never got the rest of her money.
Kevin Corr, defending, told the court Glen claimed to have had contacts in the event industry and had been known to legitimately sell tickets in the past.
The lawyer added: "He fell into alcohol and substance misuse which was a factor on his life.
"This led to him burying his head in the sand to the ticket arrangements that went on."
Glen has previously featured on the "Scotland Scammers" Facebook page outing fraudsters.
One woman branded him "a disgusting lowlife". Another claimed she had been "scammed" for tickets for the band Little Mix and that it "took ages" to get her cash back.
A further poster alleged: "Do not buy tickets off this man".
The message claimed "a broken-hearted little girl" had spent her own money hoping to see US singer Olivia Rodrigo.