Waheed Hussain Butt of Reading has admitted to 23 counts under the 2006 Fraud Act and admitted 13 of 15 other matters that were taken into consideration at Reading Crown Court.
While on probation for other offences he used Gumtree to advertise vehicles for sale.
Trusting consumers would send him either a deposit or full payment, sometimes without viewing the cars, and Butt would promise delivery within a few days.
He falsified documents and customers were met with excuses when the cars didn’t show up.
Where the vehicles were delivered, the cars were found to be faulty and the owners were promised exchanges and refunds which never came.
The judge, Miss Recorder Campbell, said Butt was a “thoroughly dishonest man, who had learned nothing from his previous sentence but had extracted money from members of the public, agreeing to supply vehicles and getting money in advance then using delaying tactics.”
She added: “While on police bail he had the temerity to continue offending, knowing police were investigating.
“The victims were ordinary people who could not afford to lose the money paid and suffered stress and sleepless nights.
“There was high culpability and significant planning was involved.”
