Three fraudsters who conned people out of more than £100,000 in an elaborate car scam investigated have been jailed.
John Owen, Abdul Wahid Qadir and Sahir Ashraf were behind the fraudulent operation of a vehicle leasing firm called Synergy Manchester in spring 2012.
Customers were conned into paying huge deposits to lease top-of-the-range cars including Audis and Mercedes which then failed to arrive, Bolton Crown Court was told.
But when the victims tried to contact the company to complain, they found that the phone lines were dead.
Police swooped on the trio following an investigation by the Examiner's sister paper the Manchester Evening News in 2012.
The brains behind the scam - a man named Quddus - was arrested but skipped bail and is now thought to be hiding abroad.
Henry Blackshaw, prosecuting, said: "This was a sophisticated operation.
"As well as having established, professional looking premises in Rochdale, considerable effort was put into the design of a website, the creation of business cards and other promotional literature that was used to con potential customers that they were dealing with a sound business."
Smartly-dressed Owen acted as the sales manager and travelled the country pitching deals to customers after they were cold-called by workers at the firm.
Qadir was the office manager who worked closely alongside Owen.
The court was told that Ashraf was the 'office junior' and 'trusted assistant', but had worked closely with Quddus and was with him when
significant cash withdrawals were made.
Qadir, of Fifth Avenue, Bolton, and Owen, of Kitson Hill Road, Mirfield, both admitted conspiracy to defraud.
Ashraf, of Delaunays Road, Crumpsall, admitted concealing the proceeds of crime.
He also pleaded guilty to five unrelated fraud offences.
All three men used false names in a bid to avoid detection. They even used these names in front of innocent workers at the firm, which had started out as a legitimate business.
Qadir and Owen were both jailed for 27 months. Ashraf was jailed for 18 months.
Judge Timothy Stead, sentencing, said the trio had taken advantage of those who could ill-afford to be duped. He said: "They speak of devastating circumstances and humiliating experiences and time spent trying to pursue their lost money. No doubt they were put to a great deal of worry."
The car leasing fraudsters took elaborate steps to make their scam appear legitimate.
They ran their fraud from an office in Rochdale and also set up a 'virtual' office on King Street in Manchester.
They designed a website, made business cards and created a glossy brochure advertising cars that customers believed could be hired.
Owen, using the name James Morgan, travelled as far as the Midlands and London to meet potential victims - who included care workers, taxi firm operators and highly-paid professionals.
There were 45 victims, who suffered an average loss of £1,500 to £2,000. A taxi firm in Merseyside lost £9,000 after paying a deposit to lease ten cars.
Owen had a background in the car industry, which enabled him to pitch confidently to victims.
Qadir, the office manager, called himself Kamran Khan and Ashraf went under the name Rayyan Ahmed.
The scam was timed so that victims expected their cars to be delivered two days after the company had shut down and the fraudsters had disappeared with their money.
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