The Stray Ferret can reveal that a councillor in the Harrogate district and case worker for Andrew Jones MP is at the centre of a police investigation into missing Porsches where victims lost out on a total of more than £1 million.
Gmund Cars Ltd, which was based at the Nidd Valley Business Park, has since gone into dissolution. Andrew Mearns was the owner. Conservative Cllr Samantha Mearns had “significant control” which she gave up in December 2018.
The company started in 2006 and built up a strong reputation as a place which bought and sold classic Porsche cars. The six alleged victims the Stray Ferret spoke to said it started to unravel in 2018.
Andrew Jones MP endorsed the shop as an “amazing business” on December 1, 2018 at the time when Gmund Cars Ltd allegedly started to transfer ownership of cars without the owners’ permission. There is no suggestion that Andrew Jones MP was aware of the allegations when the above picture was taken. Mrs Mearns remains as his case officer.
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The administrator’s report from June 2020 found more than £1 million in claims stacked up against the business with only £15,000 in assets.
North Yorkshire Police is investigating the allegations and arrested a man in his fifties in July last year. He has not been charged and the force released him under investigation.
The Stray Ferret has spoken to six alleged Gmund Cars Ltd victims. Some said they lost out on medical treatment, time away from work to see terminally ill parents or their entire pension pot as a result of not receiving money from the sale of their cars.
Six alleged Gmund Cars Ltd victims speak out
Matt Saphier believes that he is the earliest victim. He took his Porsche 911 valued at more than £80,000 to Gmund Cars Ltd back in May 2017.
After many months of waiting, Mr Saphier received a DVLA notice to say that his car had changed ownership in November 2018. He claims he did not give permission for the sale and Gmund Cars Ltd never sent him the money. Mrs Mearns still held her position of “significant control” in the company in that period.
Anthony Place also claims he lost out on more than £52,000. He took his Porsche 924 Carrera GT to Gmund Cars in August 2018 to be sold on a ‘Sale Or Return’ basis.
Anthony Place’s simple message: Where’s my money?
The DVLA sent Mr Place a notice in March 2019 to say his car had changed ownership but he also never received any money from the sale. After a couple months of pestering Mr Place lost his patience.
Mr Place decided to head down to Gmund Cars Ltd for an open day where more than 200 people were in attendance. He printed t-shirts, painted on the side of one of his other cars and even paid for a plane to carry a banner. The message was simple: “Where’s my £52,495 Gmund?”
He told the Stray Ferret:
“I personally feel quite battered and bruised by this. I may be able to bounce back from this loss and some of the other victims were left devastated. This car sale was supposed to fund my time off work. My plan was to go part time so I could spend some time with my terminally ill parents.”
All alleged six victims were critical of the police’s handling of the case and urged the force not to drop its investigation.
The Stray Ferret has approached both Samantha Mearns and Andrew Jones MP for a comment. Andrew Jones MP did not reply by the time of publication.
Samantha Mearns told the Stray Ferret:
“I was a shareholder in my husband’s business until December 2018. When the business was put into administration in June 2019, allegations were made which resulted in a police investigation. As far as I am aware the investigation has concluded with no further action being taken. I was never interviewed in relation to any of the allegations.”
