A criminal gang which included a Crystal Palace man has been dismantled after almost five years of investigations and prosecutions into an Oyster card scam. 

The group submitted fraudulent applications for child-rate Oyster cards then sold them on social media, giving ineligible passengers free bus and tram travel and 50% discounts on other Transport for London (TfL) services. 

Nine people have now been convicted of conspiracy to defraud and TfL has been awarded over £68,000 in compensation, according to TfL’s latest audit and assurance report. 

The investigation began in 2018 when a London Underground employee reported that several social media sites were offering to facilitate applications for 16+ Zip Oyster cards to ineligible members of the public. 

The investigation saw over 13,500 concessionary Oyster cards barred and over 60 social media sites blocked or closed down. 

One of the nine people convicted was Shaquille Moore, of Trenholme Road in Penge, who sold the cards under the alias ‘Ben Franklin’.  

He was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison at London Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation.