David Schwimmer lookalike gets 9 months for beer theft

LONDON — A man whose resemblance to "Friends" star David Schwimmer led to the surveillance video of him stealing beer to go viral received a jail sentence of 9 months.

Abdulah Husseini, 36, received the sentence Thursday in Burnley Crown Court, the BBC reported. He was found guilty of theft and fraud charges after police said he stole a credit card and used it to buy beer and other items in Blackpool, England, according to CNN.

Last October, Blackpool police posted images from surveillance video of the theft to Facebook hoping to catch the thief, who was unknown to them at the time. "Friends" fans quickly realized the resemblance between the suspect and Schwimmer, who played Ross Gellar on the hit sitcom, eliciting memes and videos of some of Schwimmer's more memorable quotes.

Police quickly confirmed that the thief was not Schwimmer.

“Thank you to everyone for your speedy responses,” the police department commented on a since-removed Facebook post. “We have investigated this matter thoroughly and have confirmed that David Schwimmer was in America on this date. We're so sorry it has to be this way.”

Schwimmer re-created the surveillance footage in a video he posted to Twitter and Instagram.

"Officers, I swear it wasn't me. As you can see, I was in New York. To the hardworking Blackpool Police, good luck with the investigation," Schwimmer tweeted.

Huisseini denied the allegations but was found guilty after a two-day trial, according to the BBC. He has 32 previous convictions for 60 offenses since 2008, the BBC reported, including 27 for theft and dishonesty.

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