Father and son sold cars after turning back mileage clocks
By Hannah Neary, Local Democracy Reporter
A father and son have been prosecuted for selling £180,000 worth of dodgy cars.
Janusz Borewicz, 54, and his son Krystian Borewicz, 36, were prosecuted for selling dozens of clocked cars including Audis, Volkswagens and Mercedes that had their mileage readings drastically reduced in 2015.
A court heard how the men had advertised 44 clocked cars on Autotrader and Gumtree and placed the adverts using two cards under fake names.
The duo dealt only in cash and used multiple email addresses, fake names and phone numbers to scam buyers in Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham.
During an identification parade one of the men was positively identified by a witness as the man who had sold her a clocked BMW in 2015.
An investigation by Kensington and Chelsea council’s trading standards team found the culprits through evidence from handwriting analysis.
Receipts given to the buyers of the clocked cars were compared by a handwriting expert and found to match samples of the defendants’ handwriting from official records.
Janusz Borewicz was given a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for 21 months.
Krystian Borewicz was given a 20-month prison sentence, suspended for 21 months, and was ordered to pay £10,300 in prosecution costs.
The defendants entered guilty pleas in November last year and were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on March 16.
Both men have been ordered to pay the victim surcharge in a sum to be notified.
Clocking is a criminal offence, which involves winding back a vehicle’s odometer, which measures the mileage – increase its value and asking price.
Kensington and Chelsea council’s lead member for planning, place and environment, Johnny Thalassites, said: “This was a very sophisticated and complex operation.
“The defendants misled everyone they dealt with, making it difficult to identify them.
“Our trading standards investigated, contacting witnesses to gather the evidence needed to ensure a successful prosecution.
“These crimes will not be tolerated in our borough. We will continue to work hard to protect our residents from scammers.”
Pictured top: Southwark Crown Court