Ex-banker banned from railway after dodging £5,900 of train fares – Jack Furness prosecuted for the Crown
A wealthy ex-HSBC executive who used a “sophisticated” ticketing scam to shave thousands of pounds off the cost of his journeys to work has been banned from using his local railway.
Joseph Molloy bought tickets between stations at the beginning and end of his journey, but not all those in between. The technique, known as “doughnutting”, exploits ticket barriers to create a “hole” in payment.
Molloy used the fraud at least 740 times to save £5,911 over 11 months while travelling on South Eastern Railway, Inner London crown court was told.
Molloy, 53, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation. On 17th February 2026 he was sentenced to ten months in jail, suspended for 18 months, along with a requirement to undertake 80 hours of approved work. He was ordered not to travel on South Eastern Railway for 12 months and to pay the company £5,000 compensation.
