Police seek to identify victims of luxury car fraud

Police are appealing for victims of a bogus car salesman to come forward as they may be entitled to recover some of the money stolen from them. 

In July 2021, following an investigation by Devon & Cornwall Police, Ravinder Randhawa was jailed for nine years for fraud and money laundering offences. He'd posed as a legitimate salesman having set up a fake website which claimed to be selling luxury cars on behalf of fictitious car showrooms. 

Victims from across the UK paid significant sums of money for brands including Porche, Mercedes-Benze and Range Rover, only to realise the cars didn't exist when they went to collect them or when delivery never materialised. 

In total, Randhawa stole in excess of £1million from more than 150 people. He bought expensive items with the money or laundered it using associates' accounts, including that of Atif Shariff, who was sentenced to 20 months for money laundering. 

At a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing in 2022 it was determined that Shariff's criminal benefit was £16,520 but at the time he only had available assets of £5. 

In 2024, financial investigators working within the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU) identified that Shariff was in possession of new assets – namely more than £13,000 in cash - and began the process of seizing the money and gaining his consent for it to be used to compensate victims.  

Asset Confiscation and Enforcement Manager, Amanda Alldridge, of SWROCU said:  

"We have been able to identify and partly compensate over 30 victims but we would like to track down the remainder who were part of the prosecution process.

"We are asking for individuals from across the UK who think they may've been deceived by Randhawa's scam between May 2018 and February 2021 to contact us as they could be entitled to compensation.

"The compensation value is likely to be small compared to their total loss, but my team are passionate about making sure money is paid back to those who were affected by the fraud." 

If you suspect you are a victim, SWROCU would like you to fill out a Compensation Registration Form. 

If you have information about money laundering or people who are benefitting from crime, please contact Crimestoppers anonymously.