A ROGUE salesman who made thousands of pounds selling clocked vans has been ordered to pay back a record £205,000 to his victims.
Maxwell Alvey, of Gedling Road, Arnold, admitted buying vans and tampering with mileage, and was jailed for two years in September. He was also handed a further two years for stealing £125,000 from his elderly aunt, Betty Harrison.
Now Alvey, 50, has been forced to pay back the money, a record figure for Notts County Council trading standards.
Mark Denton bought a van which had done 200,000 miles more than appeared on the clock in late 2009. Mr Denton, of Derby firm Pegasus Plumbing, said: "This is fantastic news – he sold us something which was effectively worthless and its only value was in scrap. For a small business like us, paying more than £6,000 for the van was a big hit to take and we weren't expecting to see a penny of that back.
"Even if our share of the money is £1,000, it will be more than we were expecting."
A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Nottingham Crown Court yesterday heard that Alvey gained £425,024.46 through his crimes.
But Judge Andrew Hamilton ruled that his assets were worth £205,000 and would have to be sold, otherwise Alvey would face a further 30-month jail term.
Alvey has until April 30 next year to settle up.
The victims of the operation will receive a share of £55,000, with the remainder shared between the estate of his aunt, the Home Office, and trading standards, which will get £25,000.
Trading standards manager Nicola Schofield said: "Maxwell Alvey not only ripped off unsuspecting businesses by misleading them about the mileage on the vans he sold, he placed their lives at risk by making them think they were driving a vehicle with much less wear and tear."
Councillor Mick Murphy, cabinet member for community safety, said: "This is another example of their work ensuring that many victims of rogue traders in Nottinghamshire are compensated and criminals don't walk away with any of their ill-gotten gains."
