A fraudster has been jailed after he scammed travellers at Heathrow Airport out of more then £1.3million with parking con.
Sonny Kaushal falsely advertised Airtime Parking Ltd, a company of which he was the Director, as offering "safe and secure" vehicle storage which had security fences, CCTV and 24-hour patrols.
The company claimed to be capable of storing 1,000 cars safely in its roofed compound within three miles of the country's busiest airport, and offered services such as "premium valet parking" and a "park and ride".
The parking was described as being "as safe as your house" with a "strong perimeter fence" and "fully insured" and "professional" drivers.
The scam run by Sonny Kaushal took place at Heathrow Airport
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However, the reality saw customers' vehicles being parked in a variety of insecure places including a field in Datchet, on the road in Hillingdon, an industrial estate, and some were even left in Heathrow's own parking.
On September 9, the 37-year-old was jailed for 32 months at Isleworth Crown Court.
At a previous hearing on June 1, 2023, he admitted one count of fraudulent trading and two counts of engaging in an unfair commercial practice.
Kaushal was also ordered to pay more than £725,000.
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Complaints included a failure to provide the promised park and ride service to the terminal
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The court was told the case was due to an extensive investigation by trading standards officers from Hillingdon Council.
Although Airtime Parking Ltd claimed to be the leading parking provider at Heathrow, the court heard it in fact had no allocated sites at the airport itself, and was not supported as a third party "meet and greet" company.
The court was also told some cars had been damaged while under the company's care, and car keys had been lost.
On the website Trust Pilot, 93 per cent of 116 reviews gave Airtime Parking Ltd no more than a "one star" rating.
The court heard that complaints also included extra drop-off and collection fees, aggressive staff, failure to provide the promised shuttle services to the airport, and a failure to respond to complaints or requests for reimbursement or refund.
Following numerous complaints about the business being made to Citizens Advice, the council was made aware of the issue in 2023.
During the hearing, Judge HHJ Edmunds KC made a confiscation order against Kaushal and his company to the value of £708,606.
However, the court was told the total value gained from the con is believed to be £1,357,171.
Some cars were left parked on streets in Hillingdon
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Judge Edmunds said the scam was carried out over a period of more than six months, with "multiple victims that simply must have measure in their thousands, many if not most [of whom were] unaware of the fraud".
He added: "It has been the defence case that Mr Kaushal is a person both wholly unqualified and wholly incompetent to be involved in the management of a company as well as wholly ignorant of the obligations of a company director.
"I found that he was hiding behind a mask of ignorance and incompetence as an excuse for running more than one company in a way which disregarded all normal commercial and legal practices, in turn to mask his dishonesty."
Councillor Eddie Lavery from Hillingdon Council said: "This prolific scammer exploited holidaymakers in their moment of trust, only to dump their cars and pocket their cash.
"Thanks to the relentless work of our trading standards officers and legal team, he has been brought to justice.
"This strong sentence sends a clear warning: fraudulent businesses will not be tolerated in Hillingdon."
Kaushal has been ordered to pay the amount owed in three months, or risk five years in prison, and was disqualified from acting as a company director for 10 years.