7:43 am, May 15, 2025
A rogue car dealer has been jailed for four years after he made a staggering £300,000 selling cars that had previously been written off.
Dodgy dealer Zana Ahmed Muhammed ran an illegal operation selling insurance write offs out of a base at The Old Ambulance Station, Flint.
The 42-year-old used Facebook Marketplace and eBay to advertise the illicit motors and but failed to mention the cars’ previous damage.
Muhammed received an official warning over his actions from Flintshire County Council’s Trading Standards Team but continued to sell the unroadworthy vehicles anyway.
His actions eventually saw him hauled up before Mold Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading.
The court heard that Trading Standards received multiple complaints from customers across the UK, who said they had only found out that the cars had been written off after buying them.
A subsequent investigation found that Muhammed had sold a a significant number of Category N and Category S written off cars between March 2021 and June 2023, having obtained them from salvage auctions.
When selling the cars, he then made no mention within the adverts of them being write offs but in some cases, the lisings were changed after purchase in an attempt to cover his tracks.
Lee Reynolds, prosecuting on behalf of Flintshire Trading Standards, told the court that Muhammed also used false names in order to avoid detection.
Several customers were left with significant repair bills running into the thousands as a result of the deception, while others expressed concerns that they had put their children in danger.
However, despite the dealer’s significant attempts to avoid detection, the prosecutor added that that ‘all roads, after diligent investigation, led back to the defendant’.
After hearing all the evidence, judge Timothy Petts handed Muhammed a four-year jail term.
At the sentencing, the judge said: ‘The purchase of a car, after a house, is one of the most significant purchases someone will make.’
He added that Muhammed lied about the cars, because if he told the truth them people wouldn’t buy them and had ‘even changed the adverts to make it look like you were telling the truth, which you hadn’t’.
The judge said that the car dealer lacked remorse and tried to shift the blame onto others, adding: ‘All I see is further lies’. He also accused Muhammed of acting ‘thoroughly dishonestly’.
Reacting to the sentencing, councillor Chris Bithell, cabinet member for planning, public health and public protection said: ‘Despite being advised by Trading Standards officers, Mr Muhammed continued to fail to declare that the cars were insurance write offs.
‘Whilst selling insurance write offs is not illegal, withholding this information is illegal and it must be made known to prospective customers to allow them to make an informed decision before buying a car.
‘This case shows that Flintshire Trading Standards take these matters seriously and will investigate and prosecute where necessary, in order to protect the public and legitimate car traders.
‘Our advice to consumers is to do thorough checks before buying a car, such as HPI reports, MOT history, service history, test drive the car and always ask for a receipt.’
A separate hearing will take place later this year in an attempt to secure funds to compensate the victims under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Pictured (via PA images): Mold Crown Court
