The man was handed a six-month jail sentence, while the case was transferred to the civil court for further proceedings.
A man has been sentenced to six months in prison in Sharjah after defrauding a father of Dh1.515 million by falsely promising to secure college admission for his son.
The Sharjah Court of First Instance convicted the defendant of using a fake identity and claiming to have influential connections to convince the father that he could arrange a place for his son at a college.
The court also referred the matter to the relevant civil court for further proceedings and ordered the defendant to cover court fees.
The case began when the father, who was looking for assistance with his son’s college enrolment, was introduced to the accused through an acquaintance.
After speaking with the father over the phone, the defendant assured him that he could arrange the admission and initially demanded Dh70,000 in cash.
The money was subsequently collected from the son at a shopping mall in Sharjah.
However, the defendant continued requesting additional payments.
During a later meeting with the father at a hotel, he repeated his promise to secure the college admission and demanded another Dh445,000, claiming the amount would cover the first year’s tuition fees.
He also requested an additional Dh1 million, which he described as money intended for investment.
The following day, the son handed over Dh1.445 million to the accused, bringing the total amount paid to Dh1.515 million.
Despite receiving the full sum, the defendant failed to arrange the promised admission and did not refund the money.
A woman who had a professional relationship with the father, as well as personal and business connections with the defendant, testified that she became involved after learning about the disagreement.
She told the court that the accused had acknowledged receiving the funds.
The father’s legal representative argued that the defendant had deliberately attempted to avoid creating a financial paper trail from the beginning.
According to the representative, the accused insisted that all payments be made in cash, claiming that his employment circumstances prevented him from accepting money through his bank account.
He also instructed that the cash be handed over inside his private vehicle.
During the investigation, evidence was collected regarding the relationship between the parties, including the defendant’s identity, background, meetings and communications with the father.
Records of the payments, witness statements and mobile phone messages were also presented to support the case.
After examining the evidence, the Sharjah Court of First Instance concluded that the defendant had employed a false identity and deceptive methods to persuade the father to part with his money.
The court subsequently sentenced him to six months in jail, ordered him to pay the legal fees and referred the financial dispute to the competent civil court.
