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Flint car trader jailed following Trading Standards investigation
Published: 14/05/2025
A car trader from Flint has been sentenced to 4 years in jail for selling written off cars to the sum of £300,000.
Zana Ahmed Muhammed, 42, was sentenced at Mold Crown Court on 28th April 2025, having previously pleading guilty to Fraudulent Trading under the Fraud Act 2006.
The case was brought by Flintshire County Council’s Trading Standards Team after they received multiple complaints from customers across the UK, who had purchased cars from The Old Ambulance Station, Chester Road in Flint. Customers stated they were never told the cars were insurance write offs and they only found out after buying them.
Between March 2021 and June 2023, Muhammed used Facebook Marketplace and eBay to advertise cars and failed to mention that they were insurance write offs, despite being previously warned by Officers.
Extensive investigations carried out by Trading Standards officers found a significant number of Category N and Category S written off cars were being obtained from salvage auctions and were later being advertised for sale on Facebook Marketplace and eBay. There was no mention within the adverts of them being write offs and in some cases, the adverts were changed after purchase to include this information in an attempt to suggest it was there in the first place.
Some cars broke down leaving customers with significant repair bills, sometimes thousands of pounds, for cars they would not have bought if they had known they were insurance write offs. Customers expressed concerns that they had put their children in these cars and many felt unsafe driving them.
Lee Reynolds, prosecuting on behalf of Flintshire Trading Standards, told the court that false names were used, the eBay and Facebook profile names were changed to avoid detection and various excuses were made by Muhammed when customers approached him about the issues with their cars. Mr Reynolds told of the repeated attempts by Muhammed to deceive customers and despite being advised by Trading Standards, this did not discourage the large scale fraudulent act. Mr Reynolds stated that “all roads, after diligent investigation, led back to the defendant”.
At the sentencing, Judge Timothy Petts said: “The purchase of a car, after a house, is one of the most significant purchases someone will make”. The judge 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 he had lacked remorse, tried to shift the blame onto others and stated “all I see is further lies” and that he had “acted thoroughly dishonestly”.
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.”
Lee Reynolds made an application to the court under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) in an effort to secure funds to compensate the victims at a hearing to be held later in the year.