– Three admit fraud at Knutsford dealership
– Sale or return scam linked to dozens of cars and victims
– Case moves to sentencing in June after guilty pleas
– Three admit fraud at Knutsford dealership
– Sale or return scam linked to dozens of cars and victims
– Case moves to sentencing in June after guilty pleas
Three former luxury car dealers have admitted theft, fraudulent trading and fraud by false representation.
Husband and wife business partners, Richard and Rachel Gleave, and their then-employee, Mark East, all stand convicted for their criminal activity at VIP Car Sales in Knutsford between May 2013 and March 2017. The total value of the alleged crimes was estimated to exceed £1 million by Cheshire Police.
Sale or return fraud
The Knutsford Guardian reports that while operating VIP Car Sales, a sale or return forecourt for private sellers, the trio kept clients’ money when cars were sold, accepted payments from buyers without handing over cars and selling cars without the owners’ authority.
They also sold cars despite knowing about existing finance agreements on them, agreed finance on cars they did not own, and submitted false documents to car loan companies.
After a lengthy investigation involving 65 vehicles which uncovered 41 alleged victims, the trio were charged by Cheshire Police in January last year. At a hearing at Liverpool Crown Court in March 2025, all three entered not guilty pleas to all charges.
Guilty pleas and sentencing
However, in October 2025, Richard Gleave, of St Martins, Oswestry, and former sales manager Mark East, of Albany Mill, Congleton, changed their pleas to guilty regarding the fraudulent trading charges.
Then on February 13, company director Rachel Gleave, also of St Martins, Oswestry, finally admitted committing fraud by false representation.
For one outstanding charge of theft, Richard Gleave was due to stand trial before a jury at Liverpool Crown Court on April 20. However, before the trial began, he admitted the offence, entering a guilty plea on the basis the value of the theft was between £5,000 and £10,000, not the £41,500 the Crown Prosecution Service had originally claimed.
This basis was accepted by the prosecution, which is likely to lead to a lighter punishment under current sentencing guidelines.
His co-defendants’ changes of plea in October 2025 and February this year could not be reported until now due to the potential risk of prejudicing Richard Gleave’s April 20 trial.
All three now stand convicted and the case will proceed to sentence at Liverpool on June 26. They remain on unconditional bail as pre-sentence reports are prepared.
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