Car sale (only 12 careful owners)

A dodgy dealer who swindled $1.2 million through selling cars on the internet up to 12 times each has been jailed for four years.

Timothy Andrew Whittle was sentenced in Christchurch District Court after admitting three counts of obtaining by false pretences, and 70 of obtaining by deception.

Judge James Weir said of the $1,271,000 fraudulently obtained by Whittle, $931,850 was outstanding.

Whittle, 47, sold prestigious imported four-wheel-drives through newspapers and his website, promising delivery from Japan in six to eight weeks.

The registered car dealer required deposits between $5000 and $40,000. When the vehicles did not arrive as promised, Whittle gave similar excuses to all his 73 victims; documentation problems, shipping delays and boat mix-ups.

"In other words, any explanation you could come up with in order to put victims off," the judge said.

Some victims got part or all of their deposits back but most got nothing at all. Some vehicles were "sold" up to 12 times by Whittle repeatedly accepting deposits. The money was not used to pay for the client's specific car but general business expenses.

"All the way through you continued to lie and cheat, providing every excuse in the book," Judge Weir said.

Notably, Whittle had two prior relevant convictions, for breaching the Fair Trading Act and the former Motor Vehicle Dealers Act. He had paid little of the $29,700 in fines and costs ordered by the court.

Lawyer Pip Hall said Whittle had been suffering a major depressive order, with anxiety and alcoholism, at the time of his offending.

Whittle was remorseful and had pleaded guilty early. He wanted to pay reparation and there was evidence of good character.

Motor Trade Association spokesman Steve Downes said Whittle was a "cad and a bounder."

- NZPA