Rogue automobile seller jailed for over three years after defrauding prospects

A used automobile seller from Leicestershire has been jailed for greater than three years after being discovered responsible of a number of counts of fraud regarding the sale of defective autos.

Lee David Graham Irons of Sileby was sentenced to a few years and 4 months in jail following a three-week trial at Leicester Crown Courtroom.

He was convicted on 14 prices linked to dishonest automobile gross sales at his enterprise Inexpensive Vehicles Thurcaston.

Used automobile seller sentenced for promoting defective autos and falsifying paperwork

Convicted of a number of fraud prices for misrepresenting automobile gross sales

Prolonged investigation, a three-week trial for repeat offender

A used automobile seller from Leicestershire has been jailed for greater than three years after being discovered responsible of a number of counts of fraud regarding the sale of defective autos.

Lee David Graham Irons of Sileby was sentenced to a few years and 4 months in jail following a three-week trial at Leicester Crown Courtroom.

He was convicted on 14 prices linked to dishonest automobile gross sales at his enterprise Inexpensive Vehicles Thurcaston.

The prosecution was introduced by Leicestershire County Council’s Buying and selling Requirements staff after receiving quite a few complaints from prospects who stated the vehicles they bought had been faulty and misrepresented. The offences passed off between March 2021 and September 2022.

Buying and selling Requirements officers found that Irons had offered 12 defective autos throughout that interval. In lots of instances, prospects reported points with their vehicles nearly instantly.

One girl returned her automobile the day after buy, solely to be denied a refund. The automobile was then resold. Investigators additionally discovered falsified service histories and MOT certificates linked to the vehicles offered. When officers visited the dealership, they discovered a number of unsafe and unroadworthy autos being marketed on the market.

Along with the three-year sentence, Irons acquired an additional 4 months for breaching a suspended sentence handed down in November 2020 for comparable offences – additionally prosecuted by Buying and selling Requirements.

Passing sentence, Choose Robert Brown criticised Irons’s behaviour, describing his enterprise as ‘totally dishonest’. “You had been dishonest your prospects… offering a service which was not simply unprofessional, it was clearly fraudulent. The verdicts converse for themselves,” he stated.

The choose famous Irons’s lack of regret, including that his defence concerned accusing witnesses of mendacity and forgery. Whereas he acknowledged Irons’s household circumstances and said intention to go away the motor commerce for plumbing, the choose made clear the seriousness of the offences.

He additionally praised Leicestershire Buying and selling Requirements for his or her detailed investigation. A spokesperson for Leicestershire County Council Buying and selling Requirements stated the sentence sends a powerful message: “Repeat offenders can anticipate a troublesome response. We won’t hesitate to crack down on shameless and dishonest behaviour that harms shoppers.”