Pilates teacher, 35, used friend’s credit cards to blow £35,000 on trips to Ibiza with friends, 24 iPhones and a car seat for her daschund but avoids jail over fraud
- Rhiann Keys, 35, of West Hampstead, stole the credit card details of her client
- The victim, who was also her friend, eventually found items she hadn’t bought
- Emails found by police revealed she started stealing to re-pay dealers for drugs
A pilates teacher has been found guilty of stealing £35,000 from one of her clients to pay off drug dealers and buy holidays and a car seat for her pet dog.
Rhiann Keys, 35, of West Hampstead, north London, used one of her student’s credit card details to buy 24 iPhones, holidays to Ibiza and a year’s car insurance.
She also bought a car seat for her pet Daschund Max, but was rumbled when her client, who was also a close friend, started noticing unauthorised payments on her bank statements.
Keys was arrested on June 13 2018 when police found an email on her phone saying she had started taking the money to pay off drug debts and had carried on because it was ‘easy’.
She was convicted of two counts of fraud and given a suspended sentence.
Rhiann Keys, 35, (pictured) of West Hampstead, north London, used one of her student’s credit card details to buy 24 iPhones, holidays to Ibiza and a year’s car insurance
Harrow Crown Court heard the fraud was carried out between December 2017 and May 2018.
During that time, Keys purchased 24 iPhones, to the value of £25,210.94 and car insurance priced at £2,763.
She also purchased a dog car seat for her Dachshund and paid for holidays for her friends to Ibiza, including Air BnB rooms. In total, she spent £35,038.85.
The victim eventually noticed invoices for items she had not purchased, and an investigation was opened with the bank, who reclaimed all the monies from Apple.
As a result, in April 2018, Apple brought this to the attention of the police and an investigation commenced.
She was arrested and initially denied the offences, but confessed when police found incriminating emails on her phone.
She (pictured in a paddling pool) was convicted of two counts of fraud and given a suspended sentence
Detectives from the Met Police’s specialist crime team discovered Keys had saved the victim’s payment details after she helped her purchase a pilates exercise machine.
She pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud at Harrow Crown Court on June 28 and was given a 16-month prison sentence suspended for two years on Friday.
Detective Constable Ansah Ossei-Owusu, the officer in the case, said: ‘Keys took advantage of the trust placed in her by her client, who was also her friend.
‘The fraudulent purchases were used to fund a flamboyant lifestyle including luxury items such as a dog car seat and holidays for her friends.
‘Members of the public are advised to check receipts against statements carefully and contact your card company immediately if you find an unfamiliar transaction.’
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