Catch me if you can! How teenage con artist flew business class around the world after duping travel agent in £70,000 fraud

Reece Scobie jetted around the world, flying business class

He also stayed in luxury hotels after duping his travel agent bosses

He was arrested and had his passport taken as a bail condition

But he managed to get it back by conning court officials

Audacious: Reece Scobie, pictured at an earlier hearing, duped travel companies and defrauded credit cards to pay for a globe-trotting travel spree

It was a lavish con worthy of actor Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in hit movie Catch Me If You Can.



Teenager Reece Scobie repeatedly jetted around the world, flying business class and staying in luxury hotels, after duping his travel agent bosses.



And, as with DiCaprio’s film character Frank Abagnale jr, who posed as an airline pilot to travel the world, the 19-year-old proved adept at living on his wits.



Scobie spent more than £70,000 on a jetset lifestyle by conning his former travel agent bosses, a rival travel company, and even Scottish court officials.



He booked business-class flights to destinations around the world, including Singapore and Los Angeles, during a six-month spending spree.



The teenage conman, who lives with his mother in Rait, Perthshire, also booked round-the-world trips taking in Dubai, Auckland, New York and Vancouver.



While he was being investigated, Scobie even managed to dupe court staff into handing back his passport which had been confiscated as a condition of bail.



The teenager only worked for Thomson Travel for two months but continued to use the company’s passwords to book flights and hotels after leaving his job.



Perth Sheriff Court heard that Scobie has, according to his lawyer, been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.

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Exotic: Scobie used Cambridge Business Travel's booking system to arrange business-class flights to a number of destinations, including Singapore (pictured), New York, Atlanta and Abu Dhabi

Dubai: Scobie used both his own name and a series of aliases to book the rooms at locations including Dubai

The hearing was told that he used both his own name and a series of aliases to book the rooms. He treated two of his friends to a night in a luxury hotel.



On one occasion, he was in a British Airways airport lounge and spotted that the previous user of a computer there, who worked for Cambridge Business Travel, had not properly logged off.

Scobie was able to gain access to the company’s booking system and used it to arrange flights to LA, New York, Atlanta, Abu Dhabi and Singapore.

Movie: The con was worthy notorious con-man Frank Abagnale jr, portrayed here by Leonardo DiCaprio in the Hollywood blockbuster film Catch Me If You Can

It was while Scobie was in Los Angeles that irregularities came to light and his return flight was cancelled, forcing him to borrow cash to pay for a flight home.



Scobie admitted two charges of fraud by obtaining services, flights and accommodation while employed at Thomson Travel in Perth.



He also admitted that between July 2011 and January 2012 he booked an unspecified number of flights and hotel rooms on the company’s account using company passwords.

He also admitted accessing the accounts of Cambridge Business Travel and booking numerous flights in January last year.



The court was told that Thomson Travel had been conned out of £11,256, while Cambridge Travel was duped out of £59,878.



Scobie made some of the bookings from the public computer in Perth’s AK Bell Library.



He was arrested early in 2013 and had his passport taken by Perth Sheriff Court as a bail condition.



However, he returned to court on April 18 and falsely said he had a new job in the travel industry and would need his passport.



The passport was returned after he produced a series of faked documents relating to his ‘new’ post.



Auckland: The teenager booked round-the-world trips taking in Dubai, Auckland (pictured) and New York

Vancouver: The teenager also visited Vancouver, Canada, while on his global travels

Yesterday, defence solicitor Jim Laverty said his client knew he was at serious risk of being sent to prison because of the sheer scale of the fraud.



Mr Laverty added: ‘I fully accept on his behalf that unless I can convince your Lordship that there is a credible and realistic alternative then you must detain him.’

