Serial driving test impersonator jailed for 28 months

A man who tried to sit theory driving tests for other people on multiple occasions has been jailed for more than two years.

Swallaxadin Abdul Bashir, 42, of Coventry, was given a 28-month sentence at Warwick Crown Court on Wednesday, January 8 for 12 offences, which took place from October 2018 to August 2019.

Theory centre staff reported the incidents to the Driver and Vehicles Standards Agency’s (DVSA) fraud investigation team after having suspicions that he was impersonating the genuine candidates whilst taking the tests.

He committed the fraud at test centres around England and Wales and this is the fourth time he has been convicted of similar offences.

The DVSA rejected all pass results from the tests that he carried out and in some cases he was turned away before taking the test.

Bashir pleaded guilty to the offences at an earlier court hearing, which outlined that investigators found evidence of people booking tests with him on his mobile phone.

West Midlands Police supported the DVSA fraud team’s investigation and searched his home and another property connected to him after arresting him. They found distinctive items of clothing belonging to him that were captured on test centre CCTV whilst committing some of the offences.

He was previously given jail sentences of 18 months in August 2017 and two years in July 2016 along with a six-month suspended sentence in February 2014 for similar offences.

DVSA head of counter fraud and Investigation Andy Rice said: ““DVSA’s priority is protecting everyone from unsafe drivers and vehicles.

“Theory tests are a vital way of assessing if people have the right driving knowledge and attitude to drive safely.

“Working with other agencies, we make every effort to prosecute theory test fraudsters and this significant prison sentence shows the impact of this work.”

Ongoing investigations are taking place to locate and prosecute the people who paid Bashir to carry out the tests on their behalf.

The DVSA said it had investigated 645 cases of suspected driving theory test fraud since April 2019.