David Barrington, 32, has entered a guilty plea for 50 counts of fraud and asked for a further 260 related counts to be taken in to consideration when he appeared in front of a judge at Exeter Crown Court. He has been given a suspended sentence.
The DVSA received a tip that fake MOT certificates were being issued in the Devon area, which prompted an investigation. The investigation revealed that over a period of 18 months, Barrington issued at least 310 MOT test pass certificates to vehicles he had not even inspected.
The owner of the garage in Budleigh Salterton, where Barrington worked, appears to have had no knowledge of the fraudulent activities but was banned from conducting MOT tests for 28 days. Barrington himself was removed from the MOT scheme immediately and prosecuted.
The DVSA has contacted the owners of the affected vehicles advising them to get their vehicles retested. They are also conducting a proceeds of crime investigation. Barrington was given a 16month suspended sentence nd a six-month electronic curfew order to run from 9pm to 6am.
Marian Kitson, Director of Enforcement, said: “DVSA’s priority is protecting everyone from unsafe drivers and vehicles. Mr Barrington’s actions mean there could now be an extra 310 dangerously unsafe vehicles on British roads.
