A COMPANY boss turned fraudster tried to sell a ‘clocked’ ex-police car after the mileage had been fiddled to make it more attractive to buyers.

Loyd Chandler of vehicle hire specialists Priority Hire had to give the buyer of the Audi A6 a full refund after civil action but then tried to sell the same car again under false pretences on eBay.

Judge Nicolas Cartwright described it as a ‘determined fraud' and said the real harm was 'the erosion of public confidence' as people needed to be sure that the mileage was accurate when buying a car.

The 46-year-old was handed a suspended prison sentence at Worcester Crown Court on Wednesday and will not be disqualified from acting as a company director.

Chandler, managing director of the Bromsgrove-based company which rents vehicles including refuse lorries to councils, admitted fraud and engaging in a commercial practice which was misleading under consumer protection legislation.

Priority Hire, was also guilty of three counts of engaging in a commercial practice which was misleading after attempts were made through them to sell a clocked Volkswagen Touareg.

Chandler of Clarence Walk, Cheltenham, was also in court earlier this year for another fraud involving European Growth Fund cash.

The Audi was initially sold by the police at auction on October 12, 2012 to Chandler for £5,637 with 142,624 miles on the clock.

Chandler advertised it on Auto Trader with a mileage of 85,000, meaning 57,624 miles had been wiped off the clock.

A buyer paid £7,627 for the car. However, a police officer familiar with the car recognised the car and knew the mileage was wrong.

When the purchaser learned the truth launched civil proceedings against Chandler who paid a full refund in October 2015.

Despite the civil action Chandler tried to sell the same vehicle again, this time on his personal ‘Loyd47’ eBay account with the advert displaying a mileage of 111,000 miles, still incorrect.

By now the car had done 163,00 miles because the man who bought it had driven it a further 20,000 miles on top of the142,624 miles.

The MOT history was also incorrect with inaccurate mileage figures provided between 2012 and 2016 even though it had been a police vehicle which is exempt from the MOT.

The original purchaser of the Audi recognised his old car on eBay and Chandler was reported to trading standards.

The Audi was eventually sold to Chandler’s girlfriend for £3,000 although the sale was described as a ‘fiction’ which the judge said Chandler had organised to avoid being prosecuted.

In interview Chandler was ‘at pains to complain’ about the impact of earlier court proceedings on him and his business.

Chandler also tried to sell a VW Touareg for £8,495 with 16,000 miles wiped off the clock.

An interested party travelled up from the south coast to view the vehicle.

“The condition was anything other than fantastic. Such was their concern they notified trading standards” said David Munro, prosecuting.

Richard Hull, defending, handed up references on Chandler’s behalf and argued against him being disqualified from being a company director. He said he could properly manage the company and described him as ‘hard working and industrious’.

Priority Hire, which has a £1.7 million turnover and makes a profit of around £120,000 a year, employs 15 people. Mr Hull referred to the impact of a custodial sentence on them.

“The circumstances are such that Mr Chandler might be considered by the court to have been on a frolic of his own in respect of this Audi.”

We have reported previously how Chandler applied to Worcestershire Council for European Growth Fund cash after providing quotes from Areca Design for setting up an e-commerce website for his company (£5,520 plus VAT) and for supplying Apple Mac computers (£7,848 plus VAT).

Chandler was supposed to supply invoices and statements to prove the money had been paid to the relevant supplier but he told Areca he had decided not to go ahead with the work even though they appeared on doctored bank statements.

Judge Nicolas Cartwright said: “This was a determined fraud. It was the second time you had tried to sell this vehicle in its clocked state.

“The impact is a serious loss of public confidence as a result of cases like this being publicised.”

The judge sentenced him to 37 weeks in prison suspended for two years. He must complete 160 hours unpaid work. He was not disqualified from being a company director although he said there were questions about his suitability.

The company was fined £4,050. Chandler must pay costs of £13,824.