Driver sentenced for fraud offences after attaching FAKE taxi plate to vehicle

A driver who made FAKE hackney taxi plates has received a custodial sentence for road traffic and fraud offences following a council prosecution.

At a hearing at Oxford Crown Court on Friday 3 February, the Wolverhampton based Aamer Aziz was sentenced to four months imprisonment suspended for two years, 100 hours unpaid work, six months driving ban, 36 days rehabilitation activities, and £500 costs after pleading guilty to three offences during prosecution at Oxford Magistrates' Court in December 2022.

In 2022, Mr Aziz was stopped by Thames Valley Police while in the Cherwell area for road tax offences. After his vehicle was stopped, further offences related to the vehicle’s Hackney licence plate and private hire advertising were noted and sent to Cherwell District Council’s Licensing department.

Following an investigation it was found that Mr Aziz had made a false rear Bromsgrove taxi licence plate and had falsely represented himself, and his vehicle as being correctly licensed.

The defendant pleaded guilty to using a motor vehicle without third party insurance, driving as a Private Hire driver without a licence and fraud by false representation after being investigated by Cherwell District Council.

Councillor Eddie Reeves, Portfolio Holder for Safer Communities, said: “Taxi drivers form an important part of the community, allowing many residents to stay connected to friends, family, local businesses and vital services. Local people and visitors rightly expect for these services to be safe and correctly licensed and thanks to the due diligence of local companies, drivers and the council they are.

“This case highlights that in the rare instances that drivers or companies do not comply to regulations and standards we will ensure that they are prosecuted in accordance with the law.”