Well-respected businessman jailed over car sales fraud

Well-respected businessman with £1m gambling habit jailed over car sales fraud

The boss of a used car dealership has been jailed after he swindled up to £215,000 from customers and finance companies.

Eric Scragg sold high-value sports cars including BMWs and Mercedes for their owners, but kept the cash rather than paying up, a court heard.

Scragg, 47, owner of Village Car Sales in Cheadle had a gambling addiction and spent more than £1m in Stockport casinos, police said.

He admitted a string of fraud and theft charges and was jailed for 14 months.

Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court heard how Scragg, a police officer’s son, struggled with learning difficulties at school but worked his way up to become boss of two car showrooms.

He was a sponsor at Stockport County FC and a well-known and respected member of the Stockport business community, his defence barrister Jaime Hamilton said.

When Village Car Sales hit financial difficulties in 2006, Scragg plunged into illegal activities to make ends meet.

He approached private sellers and offered to sell their vehicles from his showroom. Scragg would then take the cars and sell them on, but the customers themselves never saw a penny of the profits, with Scragg claiming he would transfer the money electronically but failing to do so.

He used delaying tactics saying the cheque was in the post, and when angry customers tried to get their money back, the defendant could never be contacted or found.

The high-value cars stolen included a £32,000 BMW, a £20,000 Mercedes CLK, a £19,000 Audi A4, a £9,000 Toyota MR2, and a Mini Cooper worth more than £11,000.

The defendant also set up fraudulent finance agreements to sell the cars, scamming banks out of thousands of pounds.

Dad-of-two Scragg, of Godley, Tameside, pleaded guilty to procuring the execution of valuable security by deception, four counts of obtaining money transfer by deception and eight counts of theft at an earlier hearing and was jailed for 14 months.

Jaime Hamilton, defending, said his client was a hard worker, who left school with no formal qualifications, but had built up a successful business.

Judge Bernard Lever told the court he had received a personal letter of mitigation for Scragg, written by the leader of Stockport Council.

Judge Lever added: “Ordinary, decent people came to you because of your reputation and because they trusted you, and they have lost money.

“These people are entitled to justice, and nothing but an immediate custodial sentence will do."