A car dealer has been jailed for seven months for repeatedly clocking the mileage on vehicles in a £18,000 scam.
Joseph Lowther sold cars around the country after tampering with their mileage readings to bump up the price on vehicles often not safe to even be on the road.
He left a string of unsatisfied customers across Scotland who suddenly found Lowther was impossible to contact after he had their money.
When police raided his home they found him hiding in a bedroom cupboard.
Lowther is the managing director of JL Cars, which operated from his home in Cowdenbeath High Street.
He would buy vehicles from the Central Car Auctions in Glasgow, alter the mileage and advertise them on Gumtree at inflated prices.
Lowther, 37, of Johnston Park, Cowdenbeath, appeared for sentencing at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.
He previously admitted that between June 6 and October 20 2014 he formed a fraudulent scheme and committed offences at Peterborough, Kilwinning, Cowdenbeath, Aberdeen, St Andrews and elsewhere.
On each occasion he tampered with the mileage to show a lower figure.
The court heard that Lowther had lived in England previously and had a conviction for forgery there.
Despite this he had recently been able to take over as licence holder in a Cowdenbeath pub.
Defence solicitor Matthew Berlow said his client was father of five children and his wife suffered from a serious illness.
He added although his client was from a travellers background he had now settled in Fife.
“He doesn’t have the transient lifestyle associated with the travelling community,” said the solicitor.
Sheriff Charles MacNair told Lowther: “These people would not have bought these vehicles if they had known the true position.
“With clocking the financial aspect is not the only one to consider. There is also the public safety aspect.”
Lowther was jailed for 215 days.
A spokesman for Gumtree said: “This conviction proves that scammers will not get away with conning innocent people.
“We are committed to tackling scams on our site, and educating people about how to avoid them. We urge everyone who uses Gumtree to follow the safety advice listed on our website.
“We encourage anyone who comes across anything suspicious to report it to us through the ‘report this ad’ button on our website, and our dedicated safety team will investigate and take action such as blocking the offender from our site.
“If you have any doubts about a deal you should walk away. Millions of people use Gumtree every day and the vast majority have a safe and successful experience.”
