Two men jailed for fraudulent car deals

The two Syrians, a car showroom owner and a driver, forged documents and then sold the cars who were owned by an Emirati engineer for a combined amount of Dh450,000.

DUBAI // A car showroom owner and a driver have been jailed for forging ownership certificates for two cars – a Ferrari and a Mercedes-Benz – and embezzling the combined Dh450,000 value of the vehicles.

Dubai Criminal Court on Thursday convicted Syrians B A, 29, and B M A, 21, of forging two sale contracts and ownership certificates for the cars, and using the fake documents in their submission to Abu Dhabi Traffic Police.

B A, who was charged with issuing a bounced cheque to the legitimate owner of the vehicles, was jailed for six months.

B M A was given two years, but the reason was not revealed.

M L, a 34-year-old Emirati engineer and owner of the vehicles, said he asked B A to sell the cars in July last year.

He said the cars were taken to a showroom in Al Barsha.

“I worked in Abu Dhabi, so I only came once a month to Dubai to check on the cars,” said the Emirati.

On one visit, he saw that the cars were not in the showroom.

B A told him they had been sold and asked M L to sign a blank contract, which he did.

“A month later I asked about the car’s price and he [B A] told me that the buyer was still finalising the bank procedures,” said M L.

The Emirati grew suspicious and looked into the matter. He found that the Syrians had forged the contracts and sold the cars as if they were the owners.

“For some time I would call him [B A] and he wouldn’t pick up my calls, so I reported the matter to the police,” M L said.

Prosecutors said the Syrians confessed during police investigations. B A said he sold the cars and took the money because he was having financial problems.

But he denied the embezzlement charge, although he confessed to forging the sale contracts and submitting them to the police.

Both men will be deported after completing their jail terms.