Car seller hit by £100k confiscation order after trading standards investigation

The trading standards team at Suffolk County Council has secured a £100,000 confiscation order against a trader following the sale of a car whose mileage had been lowered by more than 100,000 miles.

Hemen Adalat, 29, of Star Lane, Ipswich, was found guilty last year of two counts of fraud and three counts of money laundering.

This followed an investigation by Suffolk Trading Standards, which in 2012 had received a complaint from the buyer of a BMW 3 Series Adalat had advertised on Auto Trader.

The car had been advertised as having a mileage of nearly 40,000 miles and one female previous owner. The car had a £7,500 price tag.

The Trading Standards investigators discovered evidence that the previous mileage for the vehicle had been reduced by more than 100,000 miles.

Adalat was sentenced to three months in prison, suspended for 18 months.

At a confiscation hearing at Ipswich Crown Court this month, Adalat was ordered to pay £100,157.67 by 19 July this year. He will face a two-year prison sentence if he fails to do so. The defendant was also ordered to pay costs of £11,142.

The court awarded Suffolk Trading Standards Adalat’s Jaguar XJ Luxury, which will remain in their possession until the full amount has been paid.

The council said the sum of £100,157.67 was reached as Adalat was unable to account for the earnings being made from legitimate business.

Colin Spence, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for public protection said: “Trading Standards have been a driving force to secure this confiscation and I am pleased that Mr Adalat has been sentenced. The Proceeds of Crime Act is a very powerful tool which gives us the opportunity to target and tackle criminals, and make them pay for their crimes.

“This case serves to show why it is important for Suffolk residents to become aware of the tactics used by scammers to dupe them out of their hard earned cash.”