Wheeler dealer police officer in £6,500 con
A POLICEMAN defrauded a member of the public in a dodgy motoring deal after doctoring his car’s paperwork, a court heard.
Michael Hetherington, 27, provided a falsified history for the vehicle he was selling in what was described in court as ‘a pretty brazen fraud’.
He conned an unsuspecting customer out of hundreds of pounds after telling him the 2007 silver Vauxhall Astra VXR he was trying to sell was up to date with all its documentation.
But unknown to the man who was considering buying the car, Hetherington had doctored and falsified the vehicle’s documentation.
He claimed the car had a full and valid service history, telling the prospective buyer that he should feel free to walk away from the deal if he did not think it was for him.
The sale was made, and Hetherington, a Police Scotland officer, walked away from the deal with £6,500 in his pocket.
He still works at Police Scotland, although in a non-operational role and with a disciplinary process pending following his conviction.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard Hetherington pretended the Vauxhall had a full service history, predominantly carried out by car dealer Peter Vardy, one of the main dealerships for the car maker in the North-East.
He falsely claimed that it had been serviced by the firm on April 27, 2016 – weeks before it was sold to its unsuspecting new owner.
Hetherington also lied that the vehicle’s timing belt and water pump had been replaced just over a year earlier in March 2015.
Court papers stated that Hetherington ‘did provide a falcomment
‘Falsified service history’
sified service history document’ to a man and as a consequence ‘inducing’ him to buy the vehicle and that as a result he did ‘obtain £6,500 by fraud’.
No one was present yesterday when the Scottish Daily Mail approached Hetherington for at the address where the crime was committed in Westhill, Aberdeenshire.
The court also heard previously that the victim, from Inverurie, had sold the car on for a loss since this incident, which according to court documents happened sometime between April 17 and July 3, 2016.
Defence agent John McLeod said Hetherington made it clear to the man who bought the car that he could walk away from the deal if he was not happy.
Mr McLeod added: ‘That’s not evidence of a fraudster at work.’
The solicitor said his client was in employment but ‘as a result of this case, that employment will come to an end’.
Sentencing Hetherington, Sheriff Graham Buchanan said he had carried out ‘a pretty brazen fraud’.
The sheriff added: ‘I recognise that a lot of what might be called “wheeling and dealing” might go on in relation to the purchase of a second-hand car.
‘But the law does prohibit the making of false statements, even in that context of secondhand car sales. I have to take a serious view of the matter.’
Hetherington, who was found guilty after trial was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay the man he sold the car to £732.22 in compensation.
Chief Inspector Derek Hiley of the professional standards department said: ‘A report will now be prepared for the consideration of the deputy chief constable.’