A 23-year-old woman, Zeta Darwisyah Jefry, has been sentenced to seven months in jail after pleading guilty to multiple counts of cheating and criminal breach of trust, following a series of fraudulent concert ticket sales that swindled victims out of over $2,700.
Between December 2023 and March 2024, Zeta scammed at least six individuals by promising them tickets to highly sought-after concerts, including shows by pop stars Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. She employed deceitful tactics to convince her victims of her legitimacy, including fabricating an identity and misappropriating others’ identification details, according to Straits Times report.
The court heard that Zeta reached out to victims through a Telegram group chat while posing as a ticket seller. In one incident on December 27, 2023, she contacted a 27-year-old woman searching for concert tickets, introducing herself as “Nuryn Shahirah” and claiming to work for the ticketing company Ticketmaster.
The victim transferred $736 to Zeta’s Revolut account for two tickets, only to later discover from Ticketmaster that no such employee or account existed.
In another case, a 19-year-old man approached Zeta in March after seeing her advertisement for Taylor Swift tickets in the “NTU Marketplace” Telegram group. After receiving what he believed to be authentic proof of ticket ownership, he attempted to transfer $700 for two tickets.
However, when technical issues with the transfer arose, Zeta instructed him to use her DBS Bank account instead, assuring him that he would receive the tickets at the stadium. Following this, she became unreachable, leading the victim to realize he had been scammed.
Zeta was also implicated in an earlier incident from 2022, where she misappropriated $16,269 that a stranger had deposited into her bank account. She had accepted a job offer through a Telegram user named “Bonskiski,” who had entrusted her with funds to be safely transferred. Instead, Zeta took the money for personal use, subsequently blocking Bonskiski on the platform after the withdrawal.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Sunil Nair highlighted Zeta’s motivation for her offenses, stating that she sought “fast cash.” He requested a sentence of six to nine months, contending that Zeta’s actions warranted serious consequences, the report added.
Meanwhile, her lawyer, Jason Too from the Public Defender’s Office, argued for a sentence of six to seven months, pointing to Zeta’s previous reformative training and subsequent difficulties in finding employment.
Ultimately, the court weighed all factors, including Zeta’s remorse, and delivered a sentence of seven months in prison, with five additional charges being taken into account during sentencing.
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