String of fraud victims as Knaresborough car 'super dealer' conned 16 customers out of more than £1m
A Knaresborough luxury car dealer has admitted to 16 counts of fraud in a long-running campaign of cons over five years.
Andrew Mearns ran the Knaresborough-based Gmund Cars from Nidd Valley Business Park on Market Flat Lane for more than a decade, specialising in modifying and selling high-end models, in particular, classic Porsches.
Mearns, now living in Llandudno, initially denied all charges against him and the case had been set to go to trial at Sheffield Crown Court.
However, with just days before proceedings were to start, the 57-year-old changed his plea, admitting to the the fraud charges.
While no plea was given in relation to the theft incidents, Mearns will now return to court to be sentenced next February, when a custodial sentence is likely.
Mearns owned Gmund Cars from its incorporation in 2006 to its dissolution in 2020, the same year that he was also declared bankrupt
The business, which was based at the Nidd Valley Business Park, Knaresborough, was a classic Porsche specialist.
The court heard that the offences related to business activity between 2015 and 2020.
The ‘super dealer’ failed to pay 16 separate victims after selling their vehicles, mostly on a sale-or-return basis.
Among his victims was Matt Saphier, who took his Porsche 911, worth more than £80,000, to Gmund in May 2017.
A year later, a DVLA notice showed his car’s ownership had changed, yet he never received the proceeds.
Another to fall foul of the scam was Anthony Place, who gave his Porsche 924 Carrera GT to Gmund in August 2018.
By March 2019 the ownership had changed but the customer revived no funds.
The theft charges included stealing a £130,000 Porsche 356 in 2019 that belonged to Adrian Pyrah, a £160,000 Porsche Turbo in 2018 that belonged to John Hebson, and a £65,000 Porsche 911 Carrera in 2018 to an unnamed owner
Mearns’ wife Samantha, a former Conservative councillor for the Knaresborough Scriven Park ward, worked as part of the company until 2018.
She is not facing any criminal charges.
Mearns will be sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on February 27, 2026.