Stafford MOT tester gets jail for granting 26 passes without tests

A former Halfords worker has been found guilty of issuing 26 fraudulent MOT tests by Birmingham Crown Court.

Scott Anderson, who was working at a Halfords branch in Stafford, was sentenced to 10 months, suspended for a year, after issuing 26 fraudulent MOT test certificates for vehicles that had never even visited the centre.

He was caught out by the manager at Halfords and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) after logging into the work system to carry out an MOT on a day he had called in sick.

An investigation was launched by the manager at Halfords as soon as the initial anomaly had been discovered, this then led to finding the 25 other occurrences of fraudulent MOTs.

The DVSA said the offences were carried out between July 8, 2021 and September 30, 2021.

Judge Roderick Henderson Birmingham Crown Court the seriousness of the offence was heightened due to issuing certificates for vehicles that may be unroadworthy without the proper MOT checks taking place.

Halfords and its customers were victim to another fraudulent MOT tester in the same year, with Anton Fricker sentenced to an eight month custodial sentence, suspended for 15 months after pleading guilty to 31 charges related to issuing an MOT certificate without performing MOT tests.