Dubai: Man steals luxury cars by tricking owners; fined Dh350,000, jailed

He was sentenced to six months in prison, fined, and will be deported from the country after serving his sentence

Published: Wed 30 Nov 2022, 7:39 AM

By
Afkar Ali Ahmed

File photo

A 42-year-old man has been sentenced by a criminal court to six months in prison for luring luxury car owners and stealing vehicles.

According to the case papers, the incident dated back to last year when the accused managed to seize a luxury Mercedes S-63 worth Dh350,000 in a fraudulent manner.

The investigation of the Public Prosecution revealed that the accused communicated with the victim through his number, which he found in an advertisement the car owner published, putting it up for sale. The accused claimed that he owned a car rental office and wanted to buy the vehicle for his business. They agreed on a specific date to carry out the sale and transfer the ownership of the vehicle.

At the specified time, a person came to the victim claiming to be the brother of the 'car rental office owner' (the accuses), and gave the victim a cheque issued in the name of the rental office equal to the value of the car. The victim agreed to transfer its ownership in his name and handed him the car, hoping to cash the cheque. But later the victim was shocked that there was not enough balance in the account on which the cheque was debited. He realised that he had fallen victim to fraud and informed the police.

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When interrogated, he denied the charge against him. He said that he had bought the vehicle from the victim, giving him a security cheque of Dh350,000 and informing him that since his account was closed the amount would be paid to him in cash after a week, but the owner of the car filed a complaint against him after two days from the execution of the sale. Later he confessed to this crime, and admitted carrying out fraud.

The accused would seek out car sellers, luring them with a rewarding fee, and then give them a cheque which would bounce in exchange for the transfer of ownership of the car in his name or that of one of his assistants.

The court also fined him Dh350,000 and ordered that he be deported from the country.