A serial fraudster charged at least 36 learner drivers up to £1,500 a time to take their driving theory tests for them, a court heard. Satwinder Singh, 34, took the tests - which costs just £23 - for non-English speakers over a four-year period.
The Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) even issued pictures of Singh to centres as a warning while he travelled to test sites up and down the country. He was finally arrested on June 6 this year after he was recognised while trying to take an exam.
He was found to be holding a driving licence under the name of Amritpal Singh. Singh, of Swansea, admitted the specific offences of impersonating genuine test candidates for payment at Person and Reed test centres.
He also admitted possessing an article, a driving licence, for use in fraud. He accepted he had intended to deceive staff into believing he was Amritpal Singh in order to take a driving theory test under that name.
Singh also asked for 35 other similar offences to be taken into consideration ahead of his sentencing. The other test centres he targeted were in locations such as Manchester, Sheffield, Southgate, Oxford, Aylesbury, Guildford, Staines and Bristol.
Magistrates in Reading, Berks, sent his case to crown court for sentencing at a later date. He was bailed on the condition that he does not attend any Reeds or Pearson driving theory test centres.
The DVSA released a gallery of CCTV stills showing Singh posing as candidates at various test centres after his magistrates' court appearance. He faces up to ten years in jail.
The case follows similar instances across the country, including Salim Basalim, 32, who admitted twelve counts of fraud and received a year in jail for taking tests. Bolton Crown Court heard how he'd travelled to Bangor, Leeds, Preston and Finchley, North London, before he was finally cornered and sentenced in December last year.
Another man, Mohammad Shoaib, 38, was given a community order after paying a ‘ringer’ £800 to take a test for him after he failed it 14 times. A DVSA spokesperson said: “Driving test fraud is a serious offence, and we’re working closely with social media companies and other agencies to crack down and prosecute those attempting to cheat the system.”
