News

News

News Five guilty of turning back the clock at least 7.5 million miles Five men have been found guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud after a three-year investigation by trading standards teams from both Warrington and Halton borough councils. The five four of whom work for PCS Events, a chauffeur services company were found guilty of operating a widespread system of clocking the cars in their possession. In the biggest probe of its kind by Warrington and Halton trading standards, officers began investigations in 2013 after receiving information relating to the turning back of mileages on vehicles obtained by the company. The defendants sought to profit from the offence because vehicles, which were subsequently sold, had their sale prices inflated based upon the incorrect mileage reading. Warrington and Halton trading standards began work on the case while operating as a joint service. Although now two separate teams, they continued to work together to bring the case to a conclusion. More than 100 vehicles were found to have been clocked, with evidence dating from 2008 to 2014. The minimum amount of clocking that is believed to have taken place is 7.5 million miles. As well as gathering evidence against John Murphy, Paul Arslanian, Christopher Lunt and Trevor Jones for altering the mileage of cars in the possession of PCS Events, the investigation found links to Simon Williams, who carried out MOT testing of clocked vehicles and produced documents that showed incorrect mileage. Seven people in total were prosecuted at Chester Crown Court for conspiracy to commit fraud. All pleaded not guilty, with Lunt subsequently changing his plea to guilty. Two defendants were acquitted of the charges. Sentencing is scheduled for 17 March 2017 at Liverpool Crown Court. Dave Cargill, from Halton Borough Council, said: Thanks to the efforts of our dedicated officers, successful action has been taken against this widespread fraud that has been committed for a number ofyears. Trader jailed over faulty hoverboard A man who sold a hoverboard that subsequently burst into flames has been jailed after a Newport City Council trading standards investigation. Aktar Hussain appeared at Newport Crown Court on 24 February 2017, where he was given a six-month custodial sentence. In November 2015, a Newport consumer bought three hoverboards from Hussain via his eBay shop, Move4ward2011 as Christmas presents for her children. On Christmas Day 2015, one of the hoverboards started to smoke after being on charge. Luckily, the woman immediately took it outside, where it burst into flames and exploded. The incident was caught on CCTV, which showed fragments of the exploding hoverboard hitting patio doors at face height. The consumer contacted Newport City Councils trading standards team, which started an investigation. Examination of the hoverboard chargers by an expert electrical engineer revealed that they failed several aspects of the electrical safety regulations. Hussain was unable to say from whom he had purchased the hoverboards, and further claimed that he was not in the trade, but that the eBay shop was run by a friend and he merely sold the hoverboards through the shop. However, a trace on the PayPal payment made by the consumer revealed that Hussain received the money into his PayPal account, which had a balance of more than 32,000 and had received 2.82m into it since 2004. Hussain pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing at Newport Magistrates Court but, because of the seriousness of the matter, it was sent to crown court for sentencing. Bob Poole, from Newport City Council, said: This matter shows how important the work of trading standards is when investigating unsafe goods. If it had not been for the quick thinking of the consumer in this case, there could easily have been substantial damage to the property, injury, or even loss of life.