A fraudster who said his £80,000 luxury car was stolen when it was sitting in his own rented barn has avoided jail.
Barry Ross West claimed the black BMW M3 Touring was stolen from Checkendon near Henley on January 31 last year.
Police were alerted to a tracker notification of the car and found it hidden inside a barn storage unit.
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However, officers found that West had rented the barn himself.
The Wokingham man also stored a Land Rover Defender in the same barn.
It had a stolen marker which dated back to 2022.
Similar to the M3, the Defender was also owned by West, Thames Valley Police said.
Stock image of a BMW M3 Touring
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West was arrested on the same day and interviewed by the police.
He was released while police continued to enquire into the incident.
A police spokesman said the enquiries "found the male had made a report of a burglary at his home address in 2020 where two high value road bikes were stolen".
“The description triggered officer's memory that one of those bikes was in the same storage unit," the spokesman added.
Oxford Crown Court
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“This was later recovered along with the other which was found at the male's home address.”
The police said West had admitted to fraud offences in further interviews, saying he was going through financial troubles.
West was charged on May 23 and pleaded guilty to three fraud charges on July 7 at Oxford Magistrates' Court.
He was released from the court and ordered to attend Oxford Crown Court for sentencing.
He was sentenced on August 7 at Oxford Crown Court to 20 months jail which was suspended for two years.
West was ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work.
The police spokesman said that, "the value of these assets was in excess of £120,000 but fortunately all were able to be returned to insurers and finance companies".
Meanwhile, fraudster Martin McDonagh was sentenced to two years in jail at Aylesbury Crown Court on July 31.
He was jailed for multiple offences across the Thames Valley region including in Oxfordshire.
During the course of his offending, McDonagh targeted 21 victims.