Kiwis jailed in the UK over $600k super car fraud

Two Kiwis have been jailed for taking super car deposits for customers but never ordering them. Photo / 123RF

Two New Zealanders have been jailed in the UK for defrauding customers out of more than £300,000 ($579,000) for super cars that never arrived.

While working as car brokers in Warwickshire, David Chandler, 49, and Nicholas O'Neil, 47, took deposits for high-end super cars but never put in the orders, instead fobbing off their customers.

The pair, both originally from New Zealand, were sentenced to eight years in prison after being found guilty at St Albans Crown Court last week.

During a trial that lasted six weeks, the court heard the two Kiwis knew each other well and plotted to extract money from fellow traders and buyers who approached them to supply cars from makers including Porsche, Bentley and Ferrari.

The models usually had to be built to order - a process that would take between 18 months and two years.

Chandler and O'Neil took £334,000 ($644,000) from a total of seven victims between December 2014 and December 2016, fabricating documents so the customers would believe their cars had been ordered.

When one of the victims became suspicious about the length of time it was taking and the lack of action from Chandler and O'Neil they went to the police.

After this, the other victims came forward.

The court heard that Chandler used around £91,000 (NZ$176,000) of the cash to prop up his failing business while O'Neil frittered the rest away on day-to-day living, including regular trips to the pub.

O'Neil, was convicted of one count of transferring criminal property, six counts of fraud by false misrepresentation and one count of theft and has been banned from being a company director for seven years.

Chandler was found guilty of one charge of transferring criminal property and two counts of fraud by false misrepresentation and has been banned from being a director for five years.

A compensation order to retrieve some of the victims' lost funds has been applied for.