Manchester Airport 'Meet and Greet' parking boss jailed
Mohammed Isaq actually dumped people's cars in a farmer's field or on streets nearby
A man who scammed motorists with a sham "meet and greet" airport car service has been jailed for 17 months.
Mohammed Isaq, 62, was involved in three companies, charging up to £70 to meet travellers driving to Manchester Airport, collect their cars and promise to look after them in a secure car park compound, covered by floodlights and CCTV before returning the vehicle to owners after their trip.
But in fact up to 500 cars were left in a farmer's field or on streets nearby - with some returned damaged, scratched and muddy inside and out, having been used without the permission of the owners while they were away, Manchester Crown Court heard.
A break-in at the firm's "office", the back of a broken-down van, also led to the theft of 130 sets of keys along with some vehicles, leading to "chaos" when owners returned.
One customer used an app on her mobile phone while abroad to track her car as it was being driven around Manchester while the firm insisted it was in a compound and another motorist received two car parking fines while his car was supposed to be parked up with the firm, Adam Pearson, prosecuting, told the court.
Another Jaguar driver used an app to remotely watch her car being driven around and a BMW owner took a photo of his mileage before his trip - and discovered on his return his car had an additional 688 miles on the clock along with cigarette papers and cannabis inside.
One car which should have been safely parked up, suffered "substantial damage" after being involved in a collision with a bus, captured on a camera within the bus.
Mr Pearson added: "Customers were paying for a service they did not receive and would never have agreed to if they knew the truth."
The three parking firms Isaq was involved with, operated one after another as each was dissolved, were Manchester Airport Parking Ltd, Manchester Airport Parking Services and Manchester Meet and Greet Ltd - all offering services on websites.
The combined turnover was up to £200,000 but the extent of the fraudulent trading was between £30,000 and £100,000, the court heard.
Isaq, of Davenport Green Hall, Hale Barns, Cheshire, admitted fraudulent trading between August 2017 and February 2018.
He was jailed for 17 months and banned from being a company director for six years.
He had previous convictions for VAT fraud and breaking fire regulations.
Jailing him, the judge said Isaq had been the "main instigator" involved in the "exploitation of consumers":
Judge John Potter said Isaq's customers had endured, "a litany of incompetence, lack of planning and wilful neglect."
He said: "The business operated in such a way as to mislead the public. Some cars suffered significant damage or were used by employees of your companies for their own purposes without any permission from their owners."
Abdul Iqbal KC, mitigating for Isaq, said many customers were satisfied with the service from the small, family-run business and he did not set out to defraud motorists and the fraud only came by way of the standard of service not being as advertised.
Isaq's son, Sultan Khan, 28, and daughter, Amani, 27, who acted as directors for one of the firms pleaded guilty to breaking consumer protection laws by negligence.
Both had agreed to become company directors while young and unaware of the responsibilities involved, the court heard.
Each was given an 18-months community order and 200 hours unpaid work.
A proceeds of crime hearing is yet to take place to recover prosecution costs and compensation for motorists affected.
A spokesman for Trafford Council, who brought the prosecution, said:
"This is an appalling case in which customers were lied to and taken advantage of.
"They left their cars with this company on the understanding they would be kept in a safe location while they were away and this was simply not the case - their vehicles were misused and damaged.
"We are pleased with the outcome of this case and would like to say a huge thank you to our trading standards and planning teams for all their hard work in the investigation.
"We will not stand by and allow fraudulent companies to operate in our borough - we will investigate and have them prosecuted."