9:50 am, May 23, 2014
A CAR dealer from Luton has narrowly avoided going to jail after pleading guilty to 16 charges of selling clocked vehicles.
Mikhail Sturki, 28, of Pauls Road, was the junior partner at dealerships Lama Cars and Modern Cars in Luton, run by his brother-in-law, but admitted to Luton Crown Court he knew that the brother-in-law was selling clocked cars and still went along with it.
Sturki received a nine-month suspended prison sentence and was told to complete 250 hours of community service.
Sentencing him, the judge commented that cases such as these were not only dangerous for victims but the reputations of legitimate car dealers, reported the Luton & Dunstable Express.
The judge also made the point that when sentencing Sturki his junior position had been taken into account, as had the fact that he had turned his life around, starting his own reputable car firm, after being caught.
After the case, a spokeswoman from Luton Council Trading Standards commented: ‘Clocking cars is fraud, and fraud is a serious crime, particularly as it reflects badly on all local second-hand car sales people.
‘Fraudsters are not welcome in Luton and can expect to feel the full weight of the law if they choose to operate here.’
Sturki will now have his assets seized to make sure he has not profited from his criminal pursuits. His brother-in-law has not been seen and is believed to have fled the country.
