Skegness cocaine user who tricked £650 graphics card out of online seller using doctored bank transfer tells court he’s making ‘positive changes’ to his life

A man who conned an online seller into sending him a £650 graphics card used the proceeds to buy drugs.

Ethan Birks doctored a screengrab of a bank transfer he found on a Google image search to convince his victim his payment was on the way.

However, when the money never arrived the 22-year-old was traced by police after using his own social media account.

Appearing at Boston Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (July 2), Birks pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud by false representation.

“The incident took place on February 18 when the victim posted an advert on Facebook Marketplace for a GeForce RTX Graphics Card valued at £650,” prosecutor Shelley Wilson said.

“She received a message from account Ethan J B asking if it was still available.

“After providing an address for it to be sent to and saying he would transfer payment he provided an alternative address. Due to additional postage costs they agreed he’d sent £660.

“He used a screenshot of a banking payment to prove the payment had been successful. But it was not genuine and the victim never received the money at all.”

In interview Birks was reported to have told police he was encouraged to acquire the graphics card - which are used primarily for high-performance PC gaming - to raise money for cocaine.

“I was staying with a bloke and he’s a sniff head,” he told officers.

“So I started using sniff too and needed money to buy stuff. I sold it at (electronics shop) CEX for about £300.”

Magistrates were told Birks had 33 prior convictions, including three for fraud dating back to 2020 and 2021.

A probation report explained Birks - who had been homeless for around 18 months - doctored the image of the bank transfer he found on Google.

“He was encouraged to by a male he was residing with at the time,” it added.

“He (Birks) was using cocaine daily at the time but he has not used it for a number of weeks and is free of all substances.”

Defending himself, Birks told the court he was hoping to turn his life around after leaving Skegness and finding a bed at Lincoln’s Nomad Centre, which offers temporary accommodation in a bid to help homeless people find a stable address.

“At the time of the offence I was in a real bad place,” said Birks.

“For the first time in my life I feel like I’m making positive changes. I’ve signed up for volunteering at a community grocery.”

Birks was handed a 12-month community order which includes 40 drug rehabilitation days and 100 hours of unpaid work.

He must also pay his victim £650 in compensation.