DVLA worker who doctored car paperwork in 'sophisticated' million-pound fraud plan jailed

A DVLA worker who used his employee access to doctor car paperwork and boost vehicle value by £1.3m has been jailed for five years.

Matthew Holloway, 32, conspired with two other men from Swansea in a "systematic campaign" of vehicle tampering at the city's DVLA office.

Car traders Joshua Sawyer, 32, and Ashley Harris, 44, paid Holloway to manipulate and falsify records for their businesses, and Holloway also worked for others to alter papers.

In one case, Holloway's alterations allowed a Ferrari written off in Australia to be sold in the UK under fake documentation.

Swansea Crown Court heard on Friday that the potential total increase in the value of vehicles with altered documents was about £1,290,000, with Joshua Sawyer benefiting from £75,000 of increased vehicle values and Ashley Harris from £90,000.

Holloway, from the Birchgrove area of Swansea, was paid about £23,400 by Harris and Sawyer for a range of actions "circumventing usual DVLA controls".

He was dismissed from the DVLA following an internal investigation, with the conspiracy costing the agency £27,500 in fees due that were not paid.

All three men previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud between 1 January 2021 to 31 July 2022.

Craig Jones, prosecuting, said Holloway manipulated the value of vehicles by altering documents to hide identity markers, and obscured car history through actions such as creating new V5C logbooks.

The court also heard Holloway worked for other companies and individuals not involved in this case, in one instance altering documents on a stolen Range Rover.

Jones said the 32-year-old had “facilitated that vehicle being stolen”, which was then sold onto an innocent third party.

Judge Huw Rees gave Holloway a sentence of five years and three months.

Sawyer, from Morriston, was given two years and four months and Harris - who is also known as Keith Wayne Lewis - from Llansamlet was jailed for two years and eight months.

"Greed is at the heart of each of you defendants and your offending," he said, adding their behaviour had required an "extensive investigation".

Addressing Holloway, who was in tears in the dock, Judge Rees said he was "seemingly consumed by guilt".

"This is a substantial fall from grace for you," the judge said, adding his sentencing decision took into account the guilty pleas from all three and their individual family circumstances.

He called the offending "organised and sophisticated criminality which has been committed for selfish gain".

After the sentencing, Lisa McCarthy from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Holloway held a trusted position within the DVLA and exploited that role, as did Harris and Sawyer, for financial benefit.

"Their offending risked corrupting the UK's vehicle registration system, which the public, motor trade and law enforcement depend on for accurate information."

A DVLA spokesperson said the case was a "serious breach of trust by a former employee, who was dismissed immediately once the fraud was identified".

"Since then, we have strengthened our internal controls to help prevent this type of activity and we continue to work closely with the police and partners to tackle vehicle fraud and protect the integrity of our records," they added.

A proceeds of crime hearing in relation to the case is due to be held in October.