9:03 am, July 17, 2026
A £1m fraud case at a used car dealership in the north of England has taken another bizarre twist after claims emerged that the owners may have been being extorted by gangsters.
Car Dealer reported in April that husband and wife duo Richard and Rachel Gleave had pleaded guilty to fraud in relation to their business, VIP Car Sales in Knutsford, despite previously denying the charges.
The duo admitted to offences including fraudulent trading, fraud by false representation and theft between May 2013 and March 2017, amid claims they were keeping sellers’ money when cars were sold, taking payments from buyers without giving them cars, and selling cars that didn’t belong to them.
The offences covered a staggering 65 vehicles and 41 victims and the Gleaves had been expected to be sentenced earlier this week.
However, things took an unexpected turn when lawyers revealed evidence, which they say shows that Mr Gleave was actually being extorted by known criminals.
The claims emerged during a hearing at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday (July 16), where the Gleaves had been due to be sentenced alongside former VIP Car Sales sales manager Mark East.
Instead, it was only East who faced immediate justice after Judge Ian Harris granted the married couple an adjournment.
Mr Gleaves’ lawyer Mark Monaghan told the court that VIP Car Sales had been ‘effectively hijacked’ by ‘extremely dangerous criminals’, who he said extorted around £200,000 from the business during the period of the offending.
Although Mr Gleaves previously pleaded guilty, lawyers argued that this was done ‘under coercion’, Runcorn and Widness World reports.
The prosecution rejected that account but the judge still granted the request, in order to allow for Mr Gleave’s extortion claims to be investigated further.
The husband and wife are now scheduled to be sentenced on December 22.
Meanwhile, East, who admitted a single count of fraudulent trading last year, was sentenced separately.
He was handed a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay a £15 victim surcharge after Judge Harris ruled he had made ‘complete reparation’ and was ‘completely rehabilitated’.
The court heard that his offence related to one former customer, who lost around £37,000 after using VIP Car Sales to sell vehicles on his behalf.
East admitted personally receiving around £10,000 from the proceeds but later repaid the money by working for the victim without pay over a number of years.