Rail scam : Dr Peter Barnett ( pictured outside court ) faces jail after admitting to six counts of fraud by false representation . An international lawyer faces ruin after admitting dodging more than £23,000 in rail fares . Dr Peter Barnett , 43 , was told he could be jailed after police discovered he spent more than two and a half years cheating the system . He gave himself up after being caught by a ticket inspector travelling from his home in an Oxfordshire market town to London ’ s Marylebone station . Investigators discovered the Oxford graduate and Rhodes scholar regularly pretended to have travelled from Wembley instead to save himself huge sums . The Australian-born lawyer was cautioned for an identical offence in 2010 but continued to break the law , despite his prestigious reputation as the founder of an African children ’ s charity and director of leading think-tank , the Legatum Institute Foundation , aimed at ‘ promoting prosperity ’ . On Friday , he pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates ’ Court to six counts of fraud by false representation , carrying a maximum penalty of ten years in jail . The deception places him among the ranks of Britain ’ s biggest fare dodgers , closely behind a former millionaire fund manager . Jonathan Burrows was banned from working in the City last year after avoiding £43,000 in train fares from his home in Stonegate , East Sussex . The scam began to unravel for Barnett when he was stopped by a ticket inspector at Marylebone last November . He claimed to have travelled from Wembley , in North West London , instead of Thame , Oxfordshire , where he and his wife live in a £550,000 five-bedroom detached home . Barnett was sent to the excess fares window but another member of staff became suspicious and decided to contact his supervisor . Jonathan Burrows ( pictured left ) became the biggest fare dodger in history after avoiding £43,000 in train fares from his home in Stonegate , East Sussex . Right , how the Mail reported the story in August 2014 . When he turned his back Barnett ran away , but was apparently overcome with guilt and confessed the next day . An investigation was carried out by British Transport Police , which found that the lawyer had dodged fares since April 2012 . It is understood that he did so by boarding a train at Haddenham and Thame Parkway without a ticket . He then got off at Marylebone , tapping out with an Oyster card . Because there was no start point to his journey , the automated system charged him the maximum Transport for London fare , which is currently £7.60 . But this is still far less than the £19.80 price of a single peak time journey from his home . It was the same ruse employed by Burrows , who was caught out when his train company realised he had not bought a season ticket since 2008 . Barnett ’ s train operator , Chiltern Railways , claims he now owes them more than £23,000 , which he has agreed to pay back . On Friday , prosecutor Zahid Hussain told the court : ‘ Clearly , the distance between Wembley and Marylebone , where he was working , is far less than to his true home of Oxfordshire , and as such he has gained financially . ‘ The financial loss to Chiltern Railways because of his fraudulent conduct is in excess of £23,000. ’ He said Barnett had also ‘ altered a photo-card to avoid detection ’ , adding : ‘ It was planned . It was premeditated. ’ Barnett gave himself up after being caught by a ticket inspector travelling from his home in an Oxfordshire market town to London ’ s Marylebone station ( pictured ) Barnett is the author of a book on international law and worked for a major London law firm before becoming a senior figure at Gerson Lehrman Group , an investment fund consultancy . The New York-based company said he left three years ago . He blamed ‘ family problems ’ for his behaviour and his lawyer said he showed ‘ genuine remorse ’ . Saul Herman , defending , said the loss to the railway company was ‘ much closer on my calculation to £7,500 ’ and asked for the figure to be reviewed . But he said his client was in a position to pay back all the cash , saying ‘ a means form has been completed which shows compensation can be paid in the full amount ’ . Barnett was released on unconditional bail while a further assessment of how much he owes is made . He will be sentenced next month .
Dr Peter Barnett gave himself up after being caught by a ticket inspector . Cheated the system travelling from home to London ’ s Marylebone station . The Oxfordshire-born lawyer was cautioned for an identical offence in 2010 . He pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud by false representation , which carries maximum penalty of ten years in jail . Following publication of this article , solicitors representing Jonathan Burrows have contacted us to say that while £43,000 was paid to Southeastern trains to settle the matter out of court , this sum does not reflect the value of the unpaid fares alone , which could be measured in hundreds rather than thousands of pounds .