A criminal gang that orchestrated an elaborate scheme involving 90 bogus companies in a bid to steal over £800,000 in VAT and car finance fraud has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison.
Led by Derby man Shahid Mohammad, the seven-member gang established front companies to facilitate the fraud, including a fake recruitment firm used to steal identities. Mohammad received a six-year jail term, while his co-defendants were handed suspended prison sentences.
The gang’s fraudulent activities, conducted between January 2015 and November 2016, involved the use of 91 stolen identities to submit claims, resulting in the illicit pocketing of £390,980. Additionally, the gang exploited these fake firms to file fraudulent VAT repayments totalling £80,716.
