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A man was described as one of the U.K.most prolific train Fare evader 112 people convicted of unpaid train tickets are facing jail.
Charles Brohiri, 29, admitted fare evasion over £3,000 at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. Govia Thameslink The service lasted for nearly two years, ending in November last year.
Dressed entirely in black, Brohilli entered dozens of guilty pleas, repeating the word “guilty” in a soft, deep voice as court counsel read each charge. The entire process reportedly lasted about 20 minutes.
District Judge Nina Tempia said Broshiri “now faces a possible custodial sentence due to the number of offenses he committed”.
He also faces the prospect of having to repay tens of thousands of pounds of unpaid rail tolls, fees and court costs incurred in legal proceedings.
In addition, Broshiri, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, is accused of failing to pay fines worth £48,682 in separate prosecutions brought through the courts between August 2019 and April 2025.
Judge Tampia deferred sentencing until February 11 so that a pre-sentence report on Broshiri could be drawn up.
According to court documents, Broshiri could be ordered to repay all unpaid fares, totaling £3,266, as well as the costs of prosecuting 112 charges of £15,120.
He is also accused of continuing to evade Thameslink fares in late November and December last year and in the days leading up to his court appearance on Thursday.
The charges he admitted involved journeys from London to Brighton, Sussex, and unpaid fares on the Thameslink line to Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.
The court heard Brohilli continued his fare evasion operation after being banned from entering Thameslink stations as part of his bail conditions in April last year.
In August, a judge set bail conditions that explicitly banned Brochiri from traveling on Thameslink trains, telling him: “It’s important that these bail conditions are taken seriously – you can’t travel on any trains without money.”
But Broshiri’s illegal behavior is said to have continued unabated, with the last charge of fare evasion occurring three days ago, on January 12 this year.
Broshiri admitted 76 charges of failing to pay train fares.
In August 2024, he was convicted in absentia on a further 36 charges.
On Thursday, Judge Tampia rejected Broshiri’s request to overturn those convictions on a legal technicality.
He argued that the prosecutions were unlawful because they were not brought by qualified legal professionals.
But in handing down his sentence, the judge concluded: “There was no abuse of the court’s process.”
Brohilli may also ask for seven additional offenses to be taken into account when sentencing so that all of his crimes can be dealt with together.
Brohilli has been released on bail pending sentencing.
A GTR spokesman said: “We welcome the court’s decision to uphold the previous guilty verdicts on 36 offences, and note that he has now been found guilty of 112 counts of fare evasion following his guilty plea today to 76 offences.
“Through careful use of prosecutions, targeted ticket checking, focused action on known hotspots and better reporting tools for staff, ticketless travel on our network has fallen to its lowest levels since 2022.”