Not happy about receiving his fraudulent checks in a timely fashion, though, the small-time thief complained to London Underground's managing director about the slow process, and was found out after LU looked into the matter. The subway scammer's wife was also arrested, since he used her name on some of the claims. More surprisingly, though, he has a wife? She was cleared of charges and released.

The petty pilferer's defense lawyer seemed to grasp for any excuses for his petty fraud, saying "He was attempting to get away from Barnsley, where he had had something of a sheltered upbringing, where he had been bullied at school and where he had spent long periods of time at home with his parents and grandparents," according to BBC News. Quite a sad story, we're sure, but not exactly relevant. He was slapped with a nine month suspended sentence and has to pay back the £5,000.

Lesson learned: You can get a refund if you're delayed more than 15 minutes on the tube. Just don't try to claim it thousands of times over.

By Francine Kizner

Image courtesy of Brymo's Flickrstream