A man who conned Heathrow passengers out of more than £1.3 million through a fake airport parking business has been jailed for 32 months.
Sonny Kaushal, 37, from Buckinghamshire, ran Airtime Parking Ltd, which was advertised as offering “safe and secure” storage with CCTV, 24-hour patrols and professional drivers. The company claimed to have capacity for 1,000 cars in its own compound near Heathrow.
In reality, vehicles were left in unsafe locations including a field in Datchet, industrial estates, residential roads in Hillingdon, and even Heathrow’s short-stay car park. Some cars were damaged, others got parking tickets, and complaints were ignored.
At Isleworth Crown Court on Tuesday 9 September, Kaushal admitted fraudulent trading and unfair commercial practices. Judge HHJ Edmunds KC said the scam ran for over six months with “multiple victims that simply must have measured in their thousands”.
He added: “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.”
Hillingdon Council launched an investigation after numerous complaints were made to Citizens Advice in June 2022. The court heard that 93 per cent of 116 Trust Pilot reviews gave Airtime Parking just one star.
A confiscation order of £708,606 was made against Kaushal under the Proceeds of Crime Act, although the total gain from the fraud was estimated at over £1.35 million. He must pay the sum within three months or face up to five years in prison.
Cllr 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 also ordered to pay £3,053.13 in compensation and £14,319.80 in costs. He has been disqualified from being a company director for 10 years.
Chris Mitchell is the founder and editor of Harrow Online, Harrow’s leading local news platform.
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