Serial rail fare evader faces jail over 112 unpaid tickets

One of Britain’s most prolific rail fare dodgers could face jail after admitting dozens of travel offences.

Charles Brohiri, 29, pleaded guilty to travelling without buying a ticket on Govia Thameslink train journeys a total of 112 times, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.

He could be ordered to pay more than £18,000 in unpaid fares and legal costs, the court was told.

District Judge Nina Tempia warned Brohiri “could face a custodial sentence because of the number of offences he has committed”.

Brohiri, from Hatfield in Hertfordshire, was dressed in black as he pleaded guilty to 76 offences on Thursday.

Each offence was read out to him, with Brohiri quietly and repeatedly replying “Guilty” for around 20 minutes.

It came after he was convicted in his absence of 36 charges at a previous hearing.

During Thursday’s hearing, Judge Tempia dismissed a bid by Brohiri’s lawyers to have the 36 convictions overturned.

They had argued the prosecutions were unlawful because they had not been brought by a qualified legal professional, but by a lay prosecutor.

But Judge Tempia rejected the argument, saying there had been “no abuse of this court’s process”.

In a written ruling setting out her decision, she said she agreed that “a lay prosecutor can commence proceedings”.

She added there has been an ” industry-wide use of non-authorised employees to lay informations which has been a long-standing process”.

A Govia Thameslink Railway spokesperson welcomed the decision to uphold previous 36 convictions.

The 112 charges span from February 2024 to November 2025. They relate to journeys between London and Brighton, and on the Thameslink lines into Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

In addition, Brohiri is also accused of continuing to dodge fares in late November and December last year, and in January, prosecutor Lyndon Harris told the court.

The most recent allegation was three days ago – on 12 January, he said.

At a previous hearing in August last year, Brohiri was bailed and told “not to be present on or attempt to gain access to any train owned or operated by Govia Thameslink”.

He was bailed on the same conditions as imposed at previous hearings, to return for sentencing on 11 February.

In addition, he is accused of failing to pay fines worth £48,682 from separate prosecutions between August 2019 and April 2025.