A man who tried to pay for hundreds of pounds worth of goods at a Huddersfield store with fake gift vouchers claimed he was forced into it.
Shane Hughes, 38, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation when he appeared at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court.
He tried to purchase nearly £700 worth of items from Argos in Leeds Road Retail Park on November 18.
Hughes handed over gift vouchers for these to a member of staff but he immediately realised that they were fake and called police.
Prosecutor Jill Seddon said: “The store worker said it was obvious to him that they were not genuine vouchers.
“This was due to their colour and the way they were printed.
“The serial number was black when it would usually be gold and looked washed out and blurry.”
Mark Baxendale, mitigating, said that his client wasn’t initially responsible for obtaining the vouchers but accepted there was something dodgy about them.
He told the court: “Some individuals called round at his house and were putting pressure on him.
“He felt threatened and came over to Huddersfield.
“The gentlemen were sat in the car giving orders for the items they wanted.”
Hughes, of Unity Terrace in Halifax, was given a 12-week curfew as punishment.
He has to pay £85 costs and £60 victim surcharge.
