Garage owners and testers imprisoned for carrying out fraudulent MOTs

Following a Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) investigation, the garage owners and two MOT testers who worked at the Kyhber and Berbice Garage at Endsleigh Industrial Estate in Southall were sentenced following pleading guilty to conspiring to fraudulently issue MOT certificates.

Shorab Jadunandan and Sanjay Spolia who were the registered owners of the garage employed Graham Cahill and Olayinka Fadayomi as MOT testers. During the investigation it was discovered that MOT certificates were being issued for cars that had never been tested on the premises.

Further investigation revealed that more than 4000 MOT certificates had been issued by the MOT tester Graham Cahill even though he had not worked for the company since 2003. Cahill has also worked as a lecturer in a further education college.

As a direct result Kyhber and Berbice Garage lost its authorisation to carry out MOT tests.

DVSA investigations continued after a new vehicle testing station, Sovereign Motor Service, opened at the same premises and it became obvious that MOTs continued to be carried out in an improper manner.

DVSA Head of Investigations, Andrew Rice said: “The annual MOT is an important aspect of road safety and DVSA will pursue and prosecute those who defraud the system by issuing pass certificates without carrying out the test. This case sends a strong message that there can be serious consequences including a prison sentence and a criminal record.”

On the 7 March 2016 at Southwark Crown Court  Jadunandan and Fadayomi were each sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. Cahill was sentenced to 16 months and Spolia 6 months imprisonment, suspended for two years. Cahill was also ordered to undertake 100 hours of unpaid work. pg