Wedding Photographer Who ‘Scammed 40 Couples’ Out of Photos Flees to Dubai
A wedding photographer accused of scamming dozens of couples has allegedly fled to Dubai, despite owing thousands of dollars in court-ordered refunds to customers who never received their photos.
British photographer Sayf Najafi is accused of taking payments from couples for wedding photos and videos that were never delivered. According to a report by The Mail Online, at least three couples have taken Najafi to court, where he was ordered to pay a total of $12,560 (£9,422) in refunds.
The Mail Online reports that Najafi moved to Dubai this year without paying any of the court-ordered refunds. The outlet also reports that Najai continued accepting bookings through his wedding photography business CapturebySZ as recently as last month, even while devastated couples were still seeking the photos they never received.
Victims say Najafi either failed to attend their weddings or sent a replacement photographer at the last minute, before cutting off all contact. In both scenarios, no photos or videos were ever provided to the couples.
Adam and Amar Jed booked Najafi for their wedding in Kensington, London, in January. They found CapturebySZ on Instagram and paid $2,137 (£1,600) for a four-hour photography package and pre-wedding shoot. Despite being told they would receive their images within two months, they received nothing from Najafi.
“We did our research when booking him — he appeared to have good reviews and sent us samples which we were impressed by,” Adam tells the news outlet.
On the day, Najafi told them the original photographer was ill and sent a replacement who said they “thought they were going to a party, not a wedding.”
“We tried to contact him, asking him at least to send us the raw footage,” Adam says. “But he responded, saying it was against company policy. Then he just stopped responding and completely vanished. Weddings are one of the biggest moments in your life — to not have photographs of the day is just heartbreaking.”
Court records cited by Mail Online show that Najafi was ordered to pay $5,915 (£4,459) on October 1, $1,359 (£1,023) on July 1, and $5,227 (£3,940) on December 6 last year to three couples who never received photos.
Another couple Ali and Hira Ghani, are currently suing Najafi for more than £2,000 ($2,672) in the UK court. They paid CapturebySZ $2,632 (£1,970) for coverage of their two-day wedding in Croydon in March. Najafi did not attend and instead sent third-party photographers. No images were ever passed on to the couple, despite a freelance photographer confirming he had submitted them to Najafi. Hira says she had to rely on pictures taken by guests to fill the gap, but many were unusable.
“We still want the professional photos,” Hira explains.” They were supposed to be memories of our wedding, and they’re gone. He clearly has no sentimental value for the photos — he’s just taken the money.”
According to the Mail Online, Najafi left his home in Birmingham, U.K., in March and moved to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Victims claim he has been working at a real estate brokerage in Dubai while continuing to promote himself as a wedding photographer. More than 40 couples have now formed a group to share their experiences and discuss possible next steps in dealing with the photographer.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
