A Glasgow Gumtree scammer conned a couple couple out of £11,000 after selling them her dead partner's mobility car - as she 'had to pay for his funeral'.
Gemma McGregor's partner Matt Quinn died of cancer. Mr Quinn used a mobility car and, after his passing, McGregor put an advert for the vehicle on Gumtree; an online buying and selling platform.
McGregor, 32, claimed she owned the car. John and Alison Harris responded to the advert and forked out £11,00 for the vehicle. The motor was in fact owned by Motability UK who had leased it to Mr Quinn - not McGregor.
The sale was therefore fraudulent and the victims were conned at a property in Maryhill on August 24, 2018. McGregor pled guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court to a single fraud charge.
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The court heard Mr Harris spotted the online ad and made an arrangement to view the vehicle. The couple were met with a man and there was “no mention” of why the vehicle was being sold.
A fee of £11,000 was agreed for the purchase and the couple then met McGregor whose bank account was to receive the cash. Several days later, Mr Harris discovered that he did not receive a log book for the vehicle and contacted Arnold Clark.
He spoke to employee Cheryl Quinn who was able to confirm that the vehicle belonged to her uncle. Miss Quinn contacted McGregor to ask about the vehicle’s whereabouts.
She was told by McGregor that the company who owned the vehicle collected it two weeks previous.
Prosecutor Leo McGinn added: “She denied knowledge of the Gumtree advert.”
Miss Quinn then contacted the company who also denied knowledge of the pick up. The company later attended and uplifted the vehicle and the police were contacted.
McGregor later handed herself and was arrested.
Bob McDowall, defending, told the court: "The couple were out of pocket and this is a serious matter. It was a reckless fraud and it was doomed to fail.
"She was in serious financial difficulties at the time with rent arrears and eviction being threatened. Her partner Mr Quinn had just died of cancer and she had a funeral to pay costing £4,200."
Sheriff Diana McConnell told McGregor that the matter was "serious."
She added: "These people were frauded out of a considerable sum of money. I am told about your financial situation but I wonder what financial situation the Harris family are in since you frauded them of the considerable sum."
McGregor was ordered to do 270 of unpaid work and tagged for 162 days keeping her indoors between 7pm and 7am.
She was also put under supervision for two years.
A spokesperson from Gumtree said: "We take all forms of fraud extremely seriously, and this couple did the right thing by going to the police on this matter. We urge anyone who thinks they have been involved in a scam or has any suspicions about a seller to immediately contact the police and report it to us via the helpdesk.
“We are committed to educating our users on how to buy and sell vehicles safely on our platform, and we strongly encourage anyone that is considering purchasing a vehicle to go and see it in person, take it for a test drive and run your own Vehicle History Check before making a purchase. If you have any doubts walk away from the sale.
"If you suspect an ad to be fraudulent or a scam, do not reply and report this immediately via our dedicated “Report” button listed next to all ads. Our trust and safety team will always investigate and take necessary action, such as removing the ad, blocking offending users, or supporting law enforcement in their investigations.
“More information can be found at our dedicated safety hub online."
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