Quickly exit this site by pressing the Escape key Leave this site
This site is a beta, which means it's a work in progress and we'll be adding more to it over the next few weeks. Your feedback helps us make things better, so please let us know what you think.
13:03 01/10/2021
A man who knowingly sold on stolen vehicles on cloned number plates, leaving buyers thousands of pounds out of pocket, has been jailed for four years and six months.
William Arthur Buckley, aged 36, tricked at least 10 people after advertising vehicles on various sales platforms including eBay, Autotrader, and Dragon Driving, before meeting up with potential buyers to sell them stolen vans and pick-ups bearing number plates which belonged to other vehicles.
Between October 2018 and December 2019, Buckley sold on at least 10 stolen vehicles to unsuspecting buyers, including a Mitsubishi Barbarian for £16,500, a Toyota Hilux for £12,600 and a Nissan Navara for £13,500.
One victim arranged to meet Buckley in Thrapston to buy a Ford Ranger from him, handing over £16,000 in cash and driving the vehicle back to his Devon home.
Once there he found Buckley had given him registration documents for a Ford Transit. When he asked about this he was sent further paperwork which appeared correct, until the purchaser found one of the vehicle’s identification plates did not match, with later checks revealing the Ranger had been stolen in a car key burglary in the West Midlands.
Following an extensive investigation by Northamptonshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit, Buckley, of Skeltons Drove, Bury St Edmunds, pleaded guilty to 10 offences of fraud.
At his sentencing hearing at Northampton Crown Court on Friday, September 24, he was sentenced to a total of four years and six months.
Further legal action will now commence against Buckley under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Detective Sergeant Liz Dobson, of the Economic Crime Unit at Northamptonshire Police, said: “Buckley’s offending was carried out all over the UK and the financial impact of his fraud has been magnified by the fact most of his victims are self-employed, with his actions leaving them without a vehicle for their work, and having to borrow to buy another one.
“His crimes have been repeated over a number of months on a number of victims, clearly indicating he had no regard for either them or their families.
“Economic crime like this really does impact people’s lives, and Northamptonshire Police works hard to bring fraudsters to justice. I hope Buckley uses his time in prison to reflect on the harm he has done and hopefully consider how to make a living by honest means in the future.”
Report non-emergency crime by calling 101, or online at www.northants.police.uk/RO. In an emergency always call 999.
If you’re thinking about buying a car or van privately, following this advice can help you avoid falling victim to a scam: