A car dealer from Bestwood has been jailed for “clocking” over one million miles off car odometers he was selling.
Marcin Kaminski, of Pavior Road, Bestwood and brother-in-law Meti Zielinski, of Sandon Street, Basford went on to sell the cars with fake MOT certificates and service histories,
They were both sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay £20,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act after admitting the offences at Nottingham Crown Court.
Over an 18 month period between 2013 and 2015, the men tampered with 17 vehicles, cutting the mileage on 13 of them by around half and reducing the total by 1,159,743 miles. All the vehicles were then sold with false documents.
After a complaint from a consumer, Nottingham City Council Trading Standards Service, working closely with Gumtree, Autotrader, British Car Auctions and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, made two test purchases and searched homes and business addresses.
They found cash, false service stamps and paperwork for more than 70 vehicles that had been bought, advertised and sold on to victims across the country, using various phone numbers, email accounts and names. Seized laptops and iPads showed fake documents created for the sales.
Jane Bailey, Nottingham City Council’s Trading Standards Manager, said: “We are pleased that the defendants have been given significant sentences for these crimes, which have left numerous citizens out of pocket.
“Cars were sold with false service histories, suggesting to the buyers that the vehicles had been regularly serviced. This was not the case. Advisory notes on MOT tests had been removed, including tyres with low tread and brake discs corroded. This could have meant that the vehicles were sold in an unsafe condition and that purchasers were unaware they might be at risk.
“I would urge anyone buying a second hand car to make as many checks as they possibly can to ensure that the vehicle is showing its true mileage.
The website https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history will allow potential buyers to check the genuine mileage of any vehicle they are considering buying.”
Cllr Nicola Heaton, Nottingham City Council’s Portfolio holder for Community Safety, said: “This crime required intense investigation by Trading Standards and the result will protect people across the country from the organised criminality committed within a family unit.
“Buying a car is large part of anyone’s budget and to find out that your new vehicle has a false mileage and fake documents and so is worth a lot less – and in a poorer state of repair than expected – must have been a shock and concern for many victims. Pursuing compensation for the victims involved in this investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act may mean that some of the losses are repaid from the car dealers’ profits.”
