A man described as one of Britain’s most prolific fare dodgers is facing prison after admitting 112 convictions for unpaid train tickets. Charles Brohiri, 29, pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to evading more than £3,000 in fares on Govia Thameslink services over nearly two years.
Dressed in all black, Brohiri entered dozens of guilty pleas, repeating the word “guilty” as each charge was read out. District Judge Nina Tempia said he “could face a custodial sentence because of the number of offences”. He also faces paying back tens of thousands of pounds in unpaid fares, costs and court fees.
Brohiri, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, is accused of failing to pay fines worth £48,682 from separate prosecutions between August 2019 and April 2025. The court heard he continued fare dodging after being banned last April from entering Thameslink stations as part of his bail conditions.
Judge Tempia adjourned sentencing until 11 February for a pre-sentence report. Brohiri could be ordered to repay £3,266 in unpaid fares and £15,120 in prosecution costs. He also faces allegations of dodging fares in late November and December last year, and days before Thursday’s hearing.
The charges relate to unpaid fares on journeys from London to Brighton and on Thameslink lines into Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire. Brohiri pleaded guilty to 76 charges of failing to pay for a rail ticket and was convicted in his absence of a further 36 charges in August 2024.
A Govia Thameslink Railway spokesperson said: “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.”
