A rogue dealer who made nearly £190,000 in fraudulent car sales via Facebook and Gumtree has avoided being sent to prison.
Dariusz Pipcyznski, of Conniburrow, Milton Keynes, admitted using false identities and failing to declare that he was a valid trader when he appeared at Aylesbury Crown Court after an investigation by Milton Keynes Council trading standards officers.
The council said that since he failed to declare himself as a car trader, anyone who bought a car from him wouldn’t have known that if the vehicle was faulty they could claim for a repair or refund under their civil rights.
Pipcyznski, 26, was given a 17-month jail sentence, suspended for two years.
He was also ordered to carry out 200 hours’ unpaid work and pay £33,654 proceeds-of-crime plus £7,000 legal costs, after pleading guilty to the offences under the Fraud Act 2006.
After the case, council trading standards manager Sue Crawley said: ‘Pipcyznski duped customers into thinking that they were buying their car from a private seller rather than a business.
‘Trading standards seeks to protect the rights of consumers to ensure that they have the legal redress they are entitled to.
‘Hopefully this case will send a message to other traders who masquerade as private sellers that we will take robust enforcement action where necessary.’
