Summary
Nicola sold vehicles through Facebook with misleading advertisements falsely claiming 12 months' MOT and road tax, while creating counterfeit service history books and instructing accomplices to wind back odometers to conceal true mileage.
He used 15 different aliases when registering vehicles with the DVLA and dealing with customers, and falsely told buyers they were insured to drive vehicles away and covered by fictitious six-month warranties. Manchester Crown Court also ordered £23,600 compensation to victims.
Trading Standards found Nicola routinely concealed vehicle condition by painting over rust and corrosion. The investigation, supported by National Trading Standards, took account of the sustained, deliberate nature of the offending and intimidation used to suppress complaints from victims.
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Common questions
- What is this article about?
- Rael Flavius Nicola of Eccles has been sentenced to 18 months suspended and 250 hours unpaid work after being convicted of nine fraud offences by Salford Trading Standards. The trader sold second-hand vans with false MOT claims, forged service records and clocked mileage over four years, defrauding multiple victims.
- When was this published?
- This article was published on 7 September 2026.
- Who published this article?
- This article was published by TheBusinessDesk.