Willenhall couple admit false claims on Royal Mail packages

Parvinder and Baljit Nijjar claimed packages containing £500 cash and a £2,450 diamond ring had not reached their intended destinations after they had sent them.

But it emerged that the couple had never actually sent the packages in the first place and were making the fraudulent claims to clear debts.

The pair had access to documentation needed to lodge a compensation claim because they worked at the post office on Stourbridge High Street, Wolverhampton Magistrates Court heard.

But their con was discovered when it emerged that one of the 'packages' was to be delivered just 400 yards from their Willenhall home.

Meanwhile, a mobile number registered to Baljit Nijjar was used on one form claiming she was the intended receiver of the goods, while the other claim form it stated she was the sender.

Prosecutor Mr John Dove told yesterday's hearing that the claims – made within just three minutes of each other on June 13 – were "bogus" and were authenticated by the completion of forms by the couple.

He explained that the 'packages' were never actually sent.

Mr Dove added: "Both these defendants were in a position of trust.

"They abused that trust and generated documentation because they had access to the forms." The couple, both aged 36, of Marshall Road, Willenhall, indicated a guilty plea to two counts of fraud by false representation.

Mr Richard Quinn, defending, said his clients had three young children and had no previous convictions.

He added: "They acted out of desperation.

"They know scams like this have been caught out in the past and both accept their guilt and are extremely sorry for what they have done.

"This was not sophisticated and was doomed to fail from the start."

Magistrates told the couple that they were considering a community penalty as punishment for the fraud.

The pair will be sentenced on March 25.