Car conman snared by swanky Facebook pics
THESE Facebook pictures of a dad-of-five leading a lavish lifestyle with his family helped jail him over a scam involving the disappearance of luxury cars.
Businessman Sohan Malik, 42, posed in sunglasses and designer clothes at top class hotels and restaurants with his wife and daughters – and drove a string of pricey motors.
But unbeknown to his loved ones, Malik, from Styal, near Wilmslow, was in debt and was one of the masterminds behind a scam using fake details to illegally acquire high-value vehicles under hire purchase (HP) agreements.
He has now been jailed after admitting fraud.
Manchester Crown Court heard on Thursday how Malik used the names of three unwitting ‘agents’ to get hold of a series of cars at dealerships in Manchester – including an Audi RS4 worth £58,000 and a Nissan GTR Coupe worth £68,000 – and set up payment details via two companies he was involved in.
He then cancelled direct debits and made off with the vehicles, Sohan Malik Facebook in pictures showing his and his family’s lavish lifestyle leaving the ‘agents’ who set up the payments to carry the can.
Police investigated the disappearance of six cars worth up to a total of £280,000, but only one vehicle – a Nissan Qashqai – was recovered after an unnamed driver was stopped on the M60 near Manchester.
It is suspected the others were sold off.
Malik was involved in two companies – Soha Ltd, which he set up with his brother-in-law to make bed springs – and ISTN.
After being arrested, he claimed he had lost £70,000 from a 2012 business deal, but officers found images of him living a life of luxury on Facebook.
Three of the missing cars were found to have been insured in Malik’s name.
Three other people charged with conspiracy to steal, between August 2013 and January 2014, were cleared of wrongdoing.
Malik was jailed for three years and four months.
Judge Timothy Edwards told Malik: “Only one of six vehicles were recovered and none of those containing the highest-value vehicles were recovered. They may have been sold to fund what appears to be something of a lavish lifestyle that was revealed on Facebook.”
Malik was arrested in November 2015 in Essex.
Vincent Dean, defending, said: “The defendant is a family man with five children and they are reliant.
“The claim that these offences were in the context of the defendant being blamed for the loss of the £70,000 investment.
“The defendant contends that he facilitated this enterprise and had a major role in the enterprise. The first car was recovered but there is no information as to recovery of the other vehicles.”