A fraud trial involving used car business Motor House UK has collapsed after a judge found that Derby City Council’s handling of seized evidence made a fair trial impossible.
The BBC reports that five men faced allegations of fraudulent trading and fraud by false representation relating to vehicle sales. Mark Whitfield, Sukhvinder Rana, Shane Wilson, Jordan Whitfield and David Crossley all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The indictment was stayed as an abuse of process. The decision halted the proceedings without a verdict on the allegations. The ruling was handed down by Judge James Carter at Derby Crown Court on October 6.
– Motor House UK fraud trial collapses after council evidence failures
– Judge rules missing records made a fair trial impossible
– All five defendants denied charges; case halted without a verdict
A fraud trial involving used car business Motor House UK has collapsed after a judge found that Derby City Council’s handling of seized evidence made a fair trial impossible.
The BBC reports that five men faced allegations of fraudulent trading and fraud by false representation relating to vehicle sales. Mark Whitfield, Sukhvinder Rana, Shane Wilson, Jordan Whitfield and David Crossley all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The indictment was stayed as an abuse of process. The decision halted the proceedings without a verdict on the allegations. The ruling was handed down by Judge James Carter at Derby Crown Court on October 6.
Seized records could not be traced
The investigation involved the seizure of thousands of business documents from Motor House UK’s Alfreton Road premises in 2019, including invoices, customer records and refund paperwork.
According to the BBC’s report, trading standards officers were found to have failed to fully catalogue, copy or review the material, leaving uncertainty about what had been seized, returned or lost.
Donna Dowse, the trading standards officer in charge of the case, acknowledged that not all the documents had been copied or scanned before they were reviewed or returned. She also accepted that evidence had not always been properly sealed and that attempts to reconstruct records of its handling contained errors and inconsistencies.
The court also heard that original documents and investigation material had been retained personally by a former contractor without Dowse’s knowledge. There was no reliable record of what had been removed or whether everything had been returned.
Defence lawyers argued that the problem went beyond disclosure failures and involved the irreversible loss of evidence relevant to the allegations.
Council accepts court ruling
The judge concluded that the missing records were central to determining guilt or innocence and that the defendants could no longer properly challenge the prosecution case.
The BBC quoted his ruling: “I am satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the defendants have been denied the means of properly challenging the prosecution case. It follows that a fair trial is no longer possible.”
Derby City Council said it accepted the decision and was addressing the shortcomings identified.
A council spokesperson told the BBC: “This trial was the culmination of a complex and lengthy investigation into matters that go back at least eight years. The council accepts the ruling, acknowledging the challenges faced during the investigation and subsequent trial.
“There is learning already under way to address the evidential shortcomings identified within the judgment.”
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