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Uber driver took blind TV singer’s phone and gave himself a £20 tip

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/u ... 42206.html



A celebrated blind singer was conned by an Uber driver who gave himself a five-star rating and a £20 tip, a court heard.

Victoria Oruwari, 39, was tricked into handing over her phone to driver Cornel Mihai at the end of a £51 journey to her home in south London. Mihai, 32, claimed he needed to use her handset to end the journey, but then awarded himself a generous tip and a top rating, Croydon magistrates’ court heard.

As Mihai was convicted of fraud, Ms Oruwari said: “It has reiterated the fact I am vulnerable and more susceptible to crime and being taken advantage of.”

The singer was a finalist on BBC talent show All Together Now, where she brought Geri Halliwell to tears. She has toured the world as a solo soprano and performed at the Royal Opera House. Ms Oruwari, who lost her sight as a child, said: “To lead a full life I have to trust people. That has been shaken, but I am determined to continue trusting in people.”

An Uber spokeswoman said: “This incident is unacceptable and we have refunded the customer. There is no place for this kind of behaviour on the Uber app.” Mihai, of Barking, denied fraud by false representation but was convicted after a trial.

The father of two will be sentenced on February 4.

He picked up Ms Oruwari from London Bridge station at 10pm on June 29 last year when she was unable to catch a train home to East Croydon.

The singer said Mihai struck up a conversation about her sight loss during the journey. She told the court: “I felt irritated because it was none of his business, but as I was in his car I thought it best to be polite. He said I was getting on with life well and was happy and I said, ‘Yes, there’s nothing to be sad about’.

“He told me he could not end the trip on his app and asked if I could give him my phone to end it. I thought it was a little odd, but there was nothing in his behaviour to make me think I wasn’t safe. I did not think anything fishy was going on, but I was handing him a lot of trust.”

Ms Oruwari turned off her phone’s screenreader function, which reads text aloud, and passed the handset to Mihai. Only later did she discover what he had done.

“I was shocked that I had been charged twice the fare, although I knew there would be a price surge, but also that the driver had been rated five-star and tipped £20,” she said. “The only time I did not have the phone was when I gave it to him and had to switch off the screenreader so couldn’t hear what was happening.”

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IDFIMH

well uber don't have any standards so they start at the bottom

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Expect TFL have revoked his license or are they once again proving that they are allowing crooks to be members of a once proud industry.

It is amazing how they can start at the bottom and then manage to go even lower.

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Grandad,
To support my charity text MAYORWALK to 70085 to donate £5

well they like to reinvent the standards

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Uber driver who conned blind singer for big tip is spared prison

An Uber driver who exploited a celebrated blind singer to award himself a five-star rating and a £20 tip has been handed a suspended prison sentence. Cornel Mihai, 32, took advantage of Victoria Oruwari’s disability as he drove her home from London Bridge station, persuading her to hand over her iPhone so that he could end the journey.

The 39-year-old soprano singer, a finalist on BBC talent show All Together Now who has performed at the Royal Opera House, only later realised the driver had added a large tip to the £51 journey fee and given himself a top rating on the app. Mihai, who has been stripped of his minicab licence and dumped by Uber, denied wrongdoing but was convicted of fraud by false representation following a trial at Croydon magistrates court.

District Judge Susan Green yesterday handed the father-of-two a five-month prison sentence suspended for a year, and ordered him to complete 240 hours of community service. “You took advantage of a blind, vulnerable person who trusted you,” she said.

Mihai, of Dagenham, was ordered to pay Ms Oruwari £200 in compensation, plus the £20 tip, as well as £897 in court costs and fees, and he was banned from driving for the next six months.

The court heard Ms Oruwari hired the Uber on June 29 last year when she could not get a train home. “He told me he could not end the trip on his app and asked if I could hand him my phone to end it,” she said. “I thought it was a little odd, but there was nothing in his behaviour to make me think I wasn’t safe.”

Ms Oruwari turned off an aid on the phone which reads out what is on the screen, and only later discovered his deception.

Uber refunded Ms Oruwari the fare and reported Mihai to the police. Judge Green agreed not to send Mihai to prison as he has a family to look after, but added he has “shown no remorse”.

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IDFIMH

Should the courts not take a leaf out of Finlands book,they have to go to work every day to keep their family but at the end of the working day have to return to the lock up until they have served their full sentence.

are you advocating he keeps his license and continues to drive for uber

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No,he lost his license but can be employed in another occupation if an employer is prepared to take the risk.