Muslim man jailed for selling fake Hajj trips in UK

Mudassir Shaheen who advertised the sham packages on a TV channel on Sky, amassed £36,000 in total

A Muslim man who conned families in UK out of thousands of pounds with empty promises of pilgrimages to Makkah has been jailed.

Mudassir Shaheen, a resident of Bolton, offered Hajj packages at an average of £3,000. The 30-year-old, who advertised the sham packages on a TV channel on Sky, amassed £36,000 in total, but families were left without tickets or refund.



Shaheen’s attorney, Soheil Khan, defended his client saying he was effectively a single parent to his young sons as his wife was in Pakistan looking after their daughters and he seemed to have spent the money on groceries.

"This is not a case of this man stealing the money and spending it on any sort of lavish lifestyle," he added.

Shaheen was convicted on 10 counts of fraud at Bolton Crown Court in December and has been sentenced to 30 months in prison.

However, Judge Graeme Smith said Shaheen had still not accepted responsibility.



A victim's statement read in court said, "I cannot believe that a Muslim would cheat another Muslim. I had my bags packed and was preparing to leave any day. This is not just about the money, it's a matter of my faith."

This article originally appeared on BBC.