11:52 am, March 17, 2026
A rogue car dealer who used his fraudulent luxury business to scam customers out of £720,000 has had his jail sentence reduced following an appeal.
Shahnawaz Fiaz, was jailed for six years and nine months last February after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and failure to surrender to court bail.
Prior to sentencing, the 36-year-old fled the UK before an international arrest warrant was issued and he was extradited back from Denmark to face justice.
Last year, Liverpool Crown Court heard how Fiaz ran Mansouri Cars (BG) Ltd, which operated on a sale or return basis.
However, rather than repaying clients, the dodgy dealer pocketed the cash in order to fund an extravagant lifestyle, which included foreign holidays and high-end vehicles.
Prosecutors also revealed that Fiaz operated the business as a Ponzi scheme, where payments to some clients were made using the cars of others, leaving multiple victims unpaid.
The campaign saw the conman target 41 victims, who suffered a combined financial loss of £720,000. However, experts told the court that the exposure to potential loss was closer to £1.4m.
The Warrington Guardian reports that Fiaz was previously jailed in 2018 after he previous business – SK Performance Cars in Bolton – collapsed after a similar fraud.
In order to cover his tracks, the scammer employed others to act as the public face of the company and used false names to distance himself from the business.
Prior to his scam being uncovered, many employees were reportedly unaware of his true identity.
Despite this, Fiaz decided to challenge his sentence via the Court of Appeal.
The court heard that the original sentencing judge had ‘erred’ on the principle of totality, which ensures that sentences are ‘just and proportionate’ when imposing multiple sentences.
As a result, Fiaz’s sentence was reduced by nine months – going from six years and nine months to six years.
