Motor Finance Fraud On The Increase
Thursday, 6. August 2009
Many of you have read in the past my mention of the Gwent Fleet Management fraud which left many customers out of pocket and in many instances without a car. This case is just the tip of the iceberg and has been so public because so many customers were caught up in it but serious fraud is being committed all over the country daily. However, because the cases are spread so thinly no one type of fraud is hitting the headlines, causing consumers to be unaware of the dangers. I have received comments from readers who have asked if I’m not just stirring up fear to simply get customers to use me for their finance. Of course more business is always welcome but in 1991 I set up, with a group of colleagues, the British Lease Brokers Association to clean up what had become a very dirty industry following the last recession. I was chairman of that association until 2006 when we merged with the NACFB but in all that time we worked our hardest to clean up the industry and eliminate fraud, with a degree of success, because it isn’t good for any of us if the perception of potential customers is that we are all crooks, which, like politicians, not all of us are. OK forget the association with politicians, not a good comparison on reflection. But you need to be aware of the dangers attached to vehicle finance. In the case of Gwent, Brian John Webb, managing director of GFM, when it was trading, is now reported to be facing charges of 15 counts of fraud, of which 4 relate to fraudulent trading, 5 obtaining property by deception, 4 of fraudulent representations and one of false accounting. Others involved have been cautioned. Newport Magistrates Court have adjourned the case for further papers to be served with a committal hearing set for 11th September. A Crown Court trial will follow if the magistrates agree there is a case to be answered. I am still retained by the police as an expert witness in cases of fraud and my experience suggests that given the complexity of these types of fraud it is more likely that the case will be thrown out and that, as a consumer or small business, is the danger. Another fraud gets lost whilst fraudsters continue to cash in. If the case goes to court expect some interesting reading in the future. By Graham Hill
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James Says:
Brian John Webb was found to have a case answerable to and is being sentenced today after pleading guilty.