– Jailed car dealer fled the UK after £72k fraud
– Luxury car brokerage funded extravagant lifestyle
– Appeal judges have reduced jail term
– Jailed car dealer fled the UK after £72k fraud
– Luxury car brokerage funded extravagant lifestyle
– Appeal judges have reduced jail term
A car dealer jailed for running a £720,000 luxury car sales fraud has had his prison sentence reduced after successfully appealing at the Court of Appeal.
Shahnawaz Fiaz, now aged 36, had originally been jailed for six years and nine months at Liverpool Crown Court on February 5 last year after admitting conspiracy to defraud and failure to surrender to court bail.
The Warrington Guardian reports how the case centred on a fraudulent used car brokerage operation in Warrington which scammed dozens of customers out of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Fraud linked to luxury car brokerage
The court heard that Fiaz ran used car sales brokerage businesses which offered sellers a 30-day sale or return arrangement. The business would professionally valet and photograph the cars and attempt to sell them above a fixed price agreed with the owner.
Any additional profit should have been returned to the seller. Instead, prosecutors said the proceeds were frequently used to fund Fiaz’s lifestyle.
The court heard that there was also a Ponzi scheme element to the operation, as some customers were only paid after repeated pressure or legal threats and their payments were funded by selling vehicles belonging to other clients.
Fiaz first carried out the dishonest scheme on a large scale through SK Performance Cars in Bolton. He was convicted for that conspiracy and jailed for 56 months in February 2018 after prosecutors identified 21 victims and losses of just over £500,000.
When that business came under investigation he continued the operation through a new company, Mansouri Cars (BG) Ltd, which operated from a converted warehouse in Birchwood.
That fraud ran from April 2016 to February 2018 and prosecutors identified 41 victims who were exposed to confirmed losses of £720,000.
Sentence reduced by appeal judges
The court heard that Fiaz tried to distance himself from the business by placing co-defendants as the public face of the company and even using false names with some staff.
Many sellers reported that the Birchwood showroom appeared professional and displayed high value vehicles, which encouraged them to sign sale or return agreements before handing over their cars, keys and logbooks.
Vehicles were sometimes sold within the agreed 30-day period but owners were not told. When sellers chased payment or the return of their vehicles they were often given excuses or empty promises.
Trading Standards began investigating the business in August 2017 while online reviews also warned that the company was scamming customers. Despite this, the operation continued bringing in cars and towards the end of the scheme, most sellers received neither their vehicles nor their money. Buyers were also victims because Mansouri did not own the cars it was selling.
Detained in Denmark before extradition
Three co-defendants received suspended sentences in September 2024 for their lesser roles in the conspiracy but Fiaz failed to attend court. A warrant was issued for his arrest and he was later detained in Denmark and extradited to the UK.
Following his return he was jailed for six years and nine months at Liverpool Crown Court. The Court of Appeal, sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, has however ruled that the sentencing judge “erred” when applying the principle of totality.
In UK criminal law, totality requires judges to ensure that when someone is sentenced for multiple offences the overall punishment is proportionate to the total criminal behaviour.
The appeal court therefore quashed the original sentence and replaced it with a reduced sentence of six years’ imprisonment.
Ensure you always receive AM insights. Make us a preferred source of news on Google
Login to continue reading
Or register with AM-online to keep up to date with the latest UK automotive retail industry news and insight.