Hampshire Trading Standards prosecute Burbage and Rudgley for car dealership fraud In this feature l car clocking scam l international criminal l prosecution success Checkmate: bringing down the masterminds In May 2017, Hampshire Trading Standards concluded a six-week trial in Salisbury Crown Court after an investigation into a cardealership ring controlled by a notorious rogue trader. Elaine Lucas explains I t was a case involving large numbers, from the miles removed from odometers by two rogue traders and the months that Hampshire Trading Standards spent diligently gathering evidence, to the sentence handed out to the leader of a car-fraudring. It all began in Southampton, in the summer of 2013, when we started investigating car dealerships in the area, after numerous customer complaints. In February 2015, the two main suspects Richard Burbage and Stan Rudgley were arrested, along with another suspect, Ryan Overton. A week after these arrests, another suspect Darryl Warren came in voluntarily. More than 800 cars were logged as having gone through five companies Hampshire Vehicle Sales Ltd, Woolston Car Supermarket Ltd, Service 4 Life Ltd, Deltaflag Ltd and Swiftbird Ltd run by Burbage, Rudgley, Overton and Warren. To identify how the businesses were operating, paperwork found at various residential and work premises was pieced together to show where the vehicles were bought from, advertised and sold to. We discovered more than one million miles had been removed from odometers. There was a constant stream of complaints about the companies, ranging from not taxing vehicles and bounced cheques to selling unroadworthy vehicles and cars never being delivered, despite full payment being taken. These complaints gave us the whereabouts of the suspects, because the companies moved premises several times from Southampton to Portsmouth and other places in Hampshire, and then into West Sussex. Scambusters officers from various areas went out to meet those who had complained, to help gather statements. More than one million miles had been removed from odometers Dubious history Burbage used young and inexperienced individuals to set up companies that he would hide behind Burbage had a history of running rogue car dealerships in Australia. With another trader, he set up a company there with a business model based on the UK company We Buy Any Car, although it had no connection to that firm. The Australian authorities investigated Burbages company after customers complained that they were not getting the money they expected for vehicles, with some never receiving any cash. The investigation was stopped because of a lack of evidence when Burbage left Australia, and the company collapsed, owing millions of dollars. HELp FOR FIRSt-tIME CaR BuYERS During our investigation, the local press A recent YouGov poll commissioned by The printed numerous articles about Burbage Motor Ombudsman has revealed that more and his multimillion-dollar business failure than half of drivers dont know where to turn in Australia. In his defence, Burbage tried when buying or servicing their first car. The to use the argument that the press coverage ombudsman has produced a free guide for had sensationalised ideas of the businesses in drivers, which gives information and guidance the UK being fraudulent. This led the judge on buying a used car. to remand Burbage for his own safety after conviction, to protect him from the press and disgruntled customers. However, evidence from Overton and Warren showed that Burbage was continuing the pattern of fraudulent behaviour he exhibited in Australia. He used young and inexperienced individuals to set up companies that he would hide behind, with co-defendant Rudgley often acting as manager. Various names were used to conceal the fact that Burbage was back in the UK, setting up companies by using unsuspecting people to front the businesses when, in fact, they were car washers and movers. Overton and Warren were down as directors of the suspect companies and were named by witnesses as being involved with selling vehicles.Warren stated that he signed paperwork to be a director, but did so to keep his job, which was to move cars around. However, Warren admitted to lying in his interviews, which made it difficult for us to work out who was responsible for what in the company. pinpointing the evidence Consumers found it difficult if not impossible to contact the firms when issues arose with the vehicles they bought from the various companies. Company addresses were changed to ones in Manchester, where there was no connection with the business or suspects. There was little in the way of a financial trail, because Burbage did not put his name to anything. We cross-referenced hundreds of vehicle records from purchases at different auctions and various advertising platforms, with mileage checks, to prove Burbage had control through all of the companies. The distinctive looks of Burbage and Rudgley allowed witnesses to give us consistent evidence to show that it was the same two sellers behind the five companies that were trading fraudulently. The identification procedure Promat whereby witnesses are shown similar-looking individuals and asked to choose the person they dealt with was used, and handwriting samples were taken, to gather evidence against Burbage and Rudgley. Complaints about the companies continued during the trial and, finally, we were able to establish some evidence for financial investigation. On the first day of trial, Burbage had used a false name and an unsuspecting victims details to buy a 35,000 Mercedes for his own use. The financial investigation is continuing, with the trial set for November. the sentences In July 2016, at Southampton Crown Court, Rudgley who had admitted responsibility for his part in the scam in February 2015 received a prison sentence of three years and four months. Overton and Warren were found not guilty. Despite Burbage controlling others into becoming directors for him to hide behind, the jury and judge saw through the deceit. In May this year, at Salisbury Crown Court, he was sentenced to six years imprisonment. Burbage tried to use the argument that the press coverage had sensationalised ideas of the business in the UK being fraudulent CTSI is continuing to put pressure on the government to close the loophole on odometer fraud (car clocking) and is calling for third party mileage correction services to be banned. More information will follow in a future issue of TS Today. Credits Elaine Lucas is a trading standards officer for Hampshire County Council. Images: iStock.com / Altayb To share this page, in the toolbar click on You might also like Motoring ahead June 2016