Man who fled to America conned drivers out of hundreds of thousands of pounds in 'brazen' scam

A man from Porthcawl who conned people out of hundreds of thousands of pounds through a car scam and then fled to America, has been fined by a court.

Jonathan Riches, 46, would illegally access the personal data of motorists and then contact them to pursue personal injury claims through his own company.

Riches pled guilty at Cardiff Crown Court to an offence covered by data protection laws.

Judge Francis handed fined Riches £10,000, plus costs of £1,700. The Judge ruled that this must be paid within 12 months or the it will default to a custodial sentence of nine months.

Riches carried out his crimes between 2009 and 2011, after he was an employee at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Riches left the car rental company to set up his own personal injury firm but would contact his former colleagues in order to illegally obtain the details of drivers, then contacting them to offer his legal services.

At one point, through his accomplices Riches had access to the internal Enterprise database allowing him to access the personal information of clients.

Riches accomplices in the crimes, Jamie Leong, Michelle Craddock and Andrew Minty, were all previously sentenced.

In court, the Judge told Riches it was a sophisticated and long-running agreement which involved a cynical breach of trust.

Riches had previously been ordered to pay Enterprise Rent-A-Car a £300,000 civil settlement, then was interviewed by the criminal investigations team at the Information Commissioner’s Office the following year.

He was first summoned to appear in court in 2016, which he failed to do and fled to the United States. A warrant was then issued for his arrest and he returned and surrendered himself to authorities in 2024.

Andy Curry, Head of Investigations at the Information Commissioner’s Office, said: “We are pleased to see justice has been served in this case. Mr Riches spearheaded a brazen operation, through his accomplices illegally accessing Enterprise Rent-A-Car systems in order to steal data which he then used to enrich himself to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds.

“His scheme, which involved the unauthorised use of people’s personal data, was not only illegal, but it also meant people received nuisance calls asking them if they wanted to make a personal injury claim.

“The sentence delivered today demonstrates justice in this case, despite the prosecution and sentencing being delayed for a significant period by the defendant absconding to the USA."

“We would like to extend our thanks to Enterprise Rent-A-Car who informed the ICO of the breach as soon as they were aware of it due to the measures they have in place to avoid and mitigate the actions of those who commit criminal offences and for their support in this case.”

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