A millionaire has been convicted of fraud after he used false numberplates on his Porsche and Bentley to avoid parking fines.
Julian King, 43, who has a £2.5 million home in Brighton, was fined £3,870 and ordered to pay £4,000 in costs and compensation after switching the plates on his fleet, which also includes a Range Rover, a Mercedes, an Audi and BMWs.
The city’s magistrates were told that he carried out the fraud at least 45 times over five years, parking numerous cars in residents’ permit bays, loading bays and on double yellow lines. He hid the cars’ tax discs so he could not be traced.
King, a director of National Homebuyers, which buys discounted homes from distressed sellers, denied the charges but was convicted of three charges of fraudulently using vehicle registration and one count of possessing an article in connection with fraud.
The offences came to light when a woman received 15 parking tickets for a car that was not hers, but which had a similar numberplate.
Advertisement
PC Mark Bassett, of Sussex police, said: “This wasn’t a case of someone trying to get away with a quick stop somewhere they shouldn’t or spending a little too long shopping. This was calculated fraud, pure and simple, and it has been rightfully punished.”