The owner of a Dagenham-based shipping firm has been convicted of fraud after falsely claiming to have purchased and transported a vehicle to the Caribbean.

Gee Shipping Ltd, of Chequers Lane, Dagenham, charged the victim £16,000 to ship personal items to Dominica, as well as purchase and send a Toyota Hilux.

Despite receiving invoices stating the vehicle had been purchased and being told the 14-reg plate car had been loaded onto the ship, the pick-up truck did not arrive.

In further misery for the victim, when the personal goods arrived in Dominica, they had unpaid fees to settle to release their belongings.

When Trading Standards were alerted to the case in May 2017, their investigation found the director of Gee Shipping Ltd, Gary Henderson, had never actually purchased the vehicle and the details on the invoice sent to the victim related to a rental car based in Manchester.

Fraud by false representation is an offence under section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006 and carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years' imprisonment.

Councillor Syed Ghani, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety said: “This was a challenging case for our Trading Standards officers, who had to work with other agencies, a victim from the other side of the world, a hurricane and a global pandemic to make sure justice was delivered.

“The message is simple – we will not tolerate criminal behaviour in Barking and Dagenham, and we will take robust action against anyone who thinks they are above the law.”

The case was heard at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Thursday 29 July.

According to the firm’s website, the family-run shipping business was established in 2000 and specialises in “shipping barrels, crates, and boxes filled with all kinds of products to the Caribbean”.

Sentencing will take place in September.