A fraudster who conned Heathrow travellers out of more than £1.3 million through a bogus airport parking business has been jailed.
Sonny Kaushal, 37, the director of Airtime Parking Ltd, falsely advertised the company as offering “safe and secure” vehicle storage with security fences, CCTV, and 24-hour security patrols.
Among services offered were “premium valet parking”, a “park and ride” and capacity to store 1,000 cars safely in the firm’s own authorised roofed compound within three miles of the airport. The parking was described as being “as safe as your house” with a “strong perimeter fence” and “fully insured” and “professional” drivers.
But in reality, customers’ vehicles were parked in a variety of insecure locations, from a field in Datchet, on the roadside of Hillingdon’s streets, an industrial estate, and even sometimes being left in Heathrow Airport’s own short-stay parking.
Kaushal, from Buckinghamshire, was jailed for 32 months at Isleworth Crown Court on Tuesday, September 9, after admitting one count of fraudulent trading and two counts of engaging in an unfair commercial practice at a previous hearing on June 1, 2023. He was also ordered to repay more than £725,000.
It comes following an extensive investigation by trading standards officers from Hillingdon Council.
Despite claiming to be the leading Heathrow parking solution provider, Airtime Parking in fact had no allocated sites at the airport and were not supported by it as a third party “meet and greet” company, the court was told.
Some cars had been damaged while under the care of Airtime Parking Ltd, some had even received parking tickets, the court was told.
Car keys had been lost, customers were charged extra drop-off and collection fees, some failed to receive their shuttle to the airport, staff were aggressive, and there had been a failure to respond to complaints or requests for reimbursement or refund.
The court was told 93 per cent of 116 reviews on the website Trust Pilot gave the company no more than a “one star” rating.
The council was made aware of the issue in June 2022 following numerous complaints to Citizens Advice about the business.
At Tuesday’s hearing, Judge HHJ Edmunds KC, made a confiscation order against Kaushal and Airtime Parking Limited under the Proceeds of Crime Act to the value of the currently available assets of £708,606, but the total value gained from the scam was deemed to be £1,357,171, the court heard.
In his sentencing notes, Judge Edmunds stated the company’s activities were carried out over a period in excess of six months, with “multiple victims that simply must have measured in their thousands’ with ‘many if not most being unaware of the fraud”.
He further remarked: “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, Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet Member for Community and Environment, 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 was given three months to pay the amount in the confiscation order, with the risk of five years in prison if he defaults.
He was further ordered to pay £3,053.13 in compensation and £14,319.80 in costs. He was also disqualified from acting as a company director for 10 years.
