RUFF JUSTICE
‘MOST WANTED’ VOLUNTEERS AT PET SANCTUARY Crook working with animals as he faces jail
AN EXPAT who was on the FBI’s Most Wanted list after going on the run for five years has been released from custody to work at an animal sanctuary.
Rogue businessman Afzal Khan fled the US after being accused of conning a string of customers and financial firms at a motor dealership he ran in New Jersey.
The 39-year-old, originally from Edinburgh, handed himself into authorities in the United Arab Emirates in February last year and was flown back to America.
He admitted carrying out a £420,000 luxury car fraud involving super-cars including Lamborghinis, Porsches and Rolls Royces.
Khan is due to be sentenced next month but he has been freed on bail and has been volunteering at a pet rescue shelter called Funny Farm Animal Sanctuary.
Judge William J Martini signed an order allowing Khan to do shifts at the centre in New Jersey while he waits to hear his fate.
The flamboyant crook, known to his clients as Bobby, opened the Emporio Motor Group in New Jersey in 2013 and maintained a high profile. He appeared on US reality series The Real Housewives of New Jersey and counted members of the show’s cast among his clients.
The US District Court of New Jersey heard he obtained loans from a bank for cars that he never delivered, but for which the purchaser was still responsible. He also received loans for cars that were delivered, but for which neither he nor Emporio had title documents.
As a result, the purchasers of these cars were liable for the loan but could not register the vehicles.
Khan also offered to sell cars for customers, and then neither returned the cars nor provided any money from car sales.
He admitted that as a result of his actions, he exposed the bank involved to a potential loss of at least £420,000.
The offences took place between December 2013 and September 2014.
The conman was born in Edinburgh to Pakistani parents and moved to America more than 20 years ago.
Police and the FBI attempted to arrest him at his New Jersey home in October, 2014, but could not locate him.
He was placed on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted “white collar criminals” list.