A man branded one of Britain's most persistent train fare dodgers is now staring at a potential prison sentence after confessing to a staggering 112 ticket offences.
Guilty Pleas for Over £3,000 in Unpaid Fares
Charles Brohiri, aged 29 from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, entered his guilty pleas at Westminster Magistrates' Court. He admitted to evading payment on Govia Thameslink Railway services, with the unpaid fares totalling £3,266 over a period of nearly two years, ending in November 2025.
Dressed entirely in black, Brohiri repeatedly uttered the word "guilty" in a soft voice as each of the numerous charges was read aloud by the court legal adviser. The process of entering the pleas took approximately twenty minutes to complete.
Mounting Financial Penalties and Continued Offending
District Judge Nina Tempia warned Brohiri that the sheer volume of convictions now puts him at risk of a custodial sentence. The financial repercussions are also severe. He could be ordered to repay the £3,266 in fares plus prosecution costs of £15,120 for the 112 cases. Furthermore, he is accused of failing to pay separate court fines amounting to £48,682 from cases between August 2019 and April 2025.
Alarmingly, the court heard that Brohiri's fare dodging continued even after legal intervention. He was banned from Thameslink stations as a bail condition last April, and in August a judge specifically forbade him from boarding Thameslink trains without the means to pay. Despite this, offences were alleged to have occurred in late November and December 2025, and as recently as January 12, 2026 – just three days before his court appearance.
Legal Challenge Fails as Sentencing Looms
Of the 112 convictions, Brohiri pleaded guilty to 76 fresh charges on January 15, 2026. He had previously been convicted in his absence in August 2024 for a further 36 offences. He attempted to have those earlier convictions overturned on a technicality, arguing the prosecutions were not brought by a qualified legal professional. Judge Tempia dismissed this argument, finding no abuse of the court process.
Sentencing has been adjourned until February 11, 2026, pending a pre-sentence report. Brohiri is expected to ask for seven additional offences to be taken into consideration. He has been released on bail until that date.
A spokesperson for Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) stated: "We welcome the court’s decision to uphold the earlier findings of guilt... Through the careful use of prosecutions, targeted ticket checks, focused action at known hotspots, and better reporting tools for staff, ticketless travel on our network is at its lowest level since 2022."
