DUBAI: Two men who conned a Saudi investor out of SAR7,125,000 (Dhs7m) in a bogus cars purchase deal, were jailed for a total of seven years on Jan.23.

The Syrian businessman, 37, and Jordanian mechanic, 43, forged documents and managed to con the Saudi investor, 35, out of the money in July 2015, the Dubai Criminal Court learnt.

The jury sentenced the businessman to two years behind bars and sentenced the mechanic to five years behind bars. It also ordered that both be deported upon completion of the jail terms.

The businessman’s Emirati associate -whose company sold cars-, traveled abroad and issued a Special Power of Attorney letter tasking an Egyptian manager to run the company on his behalf.

The businessman landed on that letter’s copy. He and the mechanic counterfeited it by replacing the manager’s name with the businessman’s name, Al Muraqqabat Police Station records showed.

They deceived the investor into paying for 50 cars. They presented him relevant customs papers and took him to examine the cars at an Aweer showroom and a packed Dubai Customs yard.

The businessman forged a Dhs3m cheque, a sale contract and payment receipts and handed them to the investor in the presence of the mechanic.

The investor who owns a trade firm in Riyadh had heard from a friend there were cars for sale in Dubai, belonging to Yemeni traders who made up their minds to take them to Yemen due to fierce fighting. He then leant that the owners were selling them at competitive prices so they could finish them up within three days. The investor sent his friend (a Saudi trader) to Dubai to examine the cars.

The mechanic drove the trader from the airport in a posh Range Rover to a showroom in Al Aweer bearing his family name. He claimed they were his cars. The trader contacted the investor to bring Dhs11,165,000 for 77 cars.

The investor came with around Dhs1m. The mechanic received him in a posh Mercedes and drove him to the showroom then to the fenced yard. He claimed the businessman was the one in charge of signing.

He took him to the businessman’s luxurious office in Al Muraqqabat -at a busy company belonging to the Emirati associate- where the businessman expressed plans sell 405 cars at around Dhs55m.

The investor made a SAR972,000 down payment then returned to Saudi Arabia and arranged SAR2.1m more. The businessman prepared and handed him a Dhs3m bogus cheque as a guarantee.