TWO brothers who were caught "clocking" secondhand vehicles must pay £120,000 or face prison, a judge has ruled.
Naveed Malik, 37, and his 43-year-old brother Dawood were given six months to pay up by Recorder Gary Cook at Bradford Crown Court yesterday.
The pair appeared at court for proceeds of crime hearing yesterday following an investigation into their financial affairs.
In October 2013 the crown court heard how Naveed Malik, of Wheatlands Drive, Heaton, and his brother Dawood, of Back Lane, Wilsden, "clocked" the mileage of vehicles they sold in their secondhand car business.
The pair were each given suspended prison sentences after they admitted five counts of fraud.
Prosecutor Shamaila Qureshi told Bradford Crown Court in 2013 that the defendants traded in motor vehicles they bought from motor auctions and advertised on websites, such as AutoTrader and eBay.
But before selling, they significantly altered the mileage readings of cars and provided customers with misleading MOT certificates and service histories.
One of the victims alerted police when he discovered the vehicle had a false MOT.
One Mondeo car was purported to have a mileage of 67,801 when the actual mileage was 149,520.
Sentencing the brothers, Judge Peter Benson said the frauds were pre-planned and premeditated, involving the fraudulent production of MOT certificates.
But he said the brothers were of good character and held in good standing in the community.
They were both sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid community work.
Yesterday the brothers were back in court and Recorder Gary Cook confirmed the details of the confiscation orders which had been agreed following a financial investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Naveed Malik's benefit from criminal conduct was assessed as £53,117.37 and his brother's benefit figure was set at £75,908.81.
After hearing that the brothers had available assets to pay the sums, Recorder Cook gave them both six months to hand over the money.
Naveed Malik was told he faces 18 months in prison if he does not comply with the confiscation order and his brother could be locked up for 21 months if he fails to pay.
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