A police officer was among the victims who paid a car dealer for cars that never arrived a court has heard.
Caernarfon Crown Court heard Richard Griffiths was said to have paid over £7,000 to Gwyn Meirion Roberts, 50 of Dolgoed, Llandudno Junction, who denies 24 allegations of fraud and one of fraudulent trading.
His company Menai Vehicle Solutions ceased trading in October 2015, leaving customers allegedly out of pocket and without vehicles they had paid for or put deposits down on.
In day three of the trial, the jury heard from five witnesses who claim they paid in full or in part for vehicles which never arrived.
Some were said to have handed their own cars over in part exchange without receiving them back before the company went into liquidation.
Mr Griffith, an officer with North Wales Police, said he had dealt with Roberts on three previous occasions and wanted to purchase a Volkswagen T5 Combi van and part exchange his Audi A4 Avant, which he'd previously bought from Roberts.
He told prosecuting barrister Matthew Corbett Jones the deal was to hand over his car, plus £7,000 and a further £1,000 on delivery for alloys wheels - and Roberts would transfer his private registration to his new vehicle.
He said he was told to insure the vehicle from October 1 by Roberts but it never materialised with the dealer claiming there was a delay getting the alloys wheels.
Mr Griffith told the court he tried to contact Roberts after that. He said: "I tried to contact him twice. His phone was dead."
He later went to his office on Parc Menai. "It was all in darkness. I was told Gwyn had gone."
He said he'd been told his car had been sold to someone in Bangor but on enquiring with DVLA found no transfer of ownership had been logged with them.
He also tracked down the vehicle he was supposed to be receiving to a dealership in Cardiff, which said the car had been reserved but no payments had been made. He never received his money back or his vehicle.
"I reported the incident to the police believing it be theft or fraud."
Another witness, Silvana Borg-Barthet, said after she traded in her Peugeot 107 and cash for a BMW X1 that never arrived she was given a "crap car" to use to take her daughter to school.
She said Roberts just "disappeared".
She added: "I called him. I couldn’t get hold of him. I tried a million times but he didn’t answer his phone."
The trial continues.
