Dodgy second-hand car dealers used aggression, intimidation and bullying tactics against customers as part of an orchestrated fraud worth up to £80,000, a court has heard.
As reported in the Leicester Mercury the three men were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court Monday (FRI) for selling defective, unroadworthy and dangerous vehicles to unknowing customers from across the city, county and East Midlands.
Kingpin of the operation Paul Hanna, was handed a three-and-half-year jail term after admitting four counts of fraudulent trading. The 51-year-old was also ordered to pay £69,000, which investigators had found hidden under floorboards at his home, in compensation to their 30 victims. Co-defendant Jignesh Manani (33), of Collette Road, Beaumont Leys, Leicester, was given a two-year sentence after pleading guilty to two fraudulent trading offences.
Justin John (33), of Wigston, was given a 12-month community order involving 120 hours of unpaid work after admitting to one count of fraudulent trading. The investigation was led by the National Trading Standards and East Midlands Regional Investigations Team following more than 300 complaints about vehicles. They included perished tyres, leaking fuel and front seat belts that would not fasten. Many of the faults were present before the cars were sold and were either “unknown or ignored” by company staff.
Prosecutor Andrew Easteal said 16 different car sales businesses purported to operate from a site located in Leicester.
The court heard that vehicles were also advertised on websites such as Autotrader and Gumtree, with sales staff offering and selling warranties which were worthless.
A car auctioneer account connected to the businesses purchased a total of 734 vehicles costing £1.38m to sell at the site.
They included elderly buyers for whom transport was vital, single parents reliant on a car to manage work and childcare commitments, students needing a car for a part-time job to make ends meet and family members acting as carers.
Judge Robert Brown said aggravating factors in the case included the high number of victims, their vulnerability in some cases, the level of financial loss and distress caused and the danger to life and limb posed by “unsafe and potentially very dangerous” vehicles.
He accepted all three defendants’ guilty pleas as mitigation, and the lesser roles played by Manani and John.
