Two international students have been sentenced to prison for defrauding United Kingdom (UK) train companies of about £140,000 by falsely claiming compensation for delayed trains they never travelled on.

Li Liu, 26, and Wanqing Yu, 25, reportedly used the fraudulent claims to fund their living expenses and pay tuition fees while studying in Leeds.

Leeds Crown Court heard that the pair, who lived in student accommodation on Clay Pit Lane, created fake identities, disposable email accounts, and used international bank transfers to deceive train operators.

Their scheme was uncovered after CrossCountry Trains noticed suspicious activity and traced the scam to Liu and Yu. By that time, the pair had made 447 false compensation claims.

Other train companies later discovered they had also fallen victim to the same scheme, which ran from October 2021 to February this year.

Investigators observed a recurring pattern of fake names, non-residential addresses, and single-use Chinese email accounts linked to the fraudulent transactions. Virtual bank accounts were also used to move the funds quickly, with detectives eventually tracing the money to a tuition payment company and cash withdrawals in Jiangxi, China.

The breakthrough came when a mail redirection service mistakenly sent the delay compensation forms to Liu and Yu’s real address in Yorkshire, instead of the fake ones listed on their forms. British Transport Police then moved in and arrested the duo.

Investigations revealed that Liu had paid for his entire university course through the scam, while Yu had cleared most of her student debts using the proceeds.

Liu pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation and conspiracy to acquire criminal property and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Yu also pleaded guilty to the same offences and received a 17-week sentence.

DS Alexandra Carter said: “I’m extremely pleased with the result in this case. Liu and Yu found a weakness in the system and relentlessly abused it for their own benefit at great cost to the train operating companies.

“It’s important to remember this isn’t a victimless crime.

“In defrauding the Train Operating Companiess to fund their lifestyle, they’ve also made a mockery of the average commuters who have spent hard-earned money on train tickets – lost to these malicious criminals who worked at great lengths to conceal their wrongdoing.

“Thankfully, in the end we were able to track down Liu and Yu and bring them to justice, and I hope that this sends a message to anyone who would think of attempting anything similar.” (TRIBUNE)