A major investigation by Consumer Protection into an illegal car dealing operation has come to a successful conclusion after a Camillo couple were fined a total of $10,000 by the Perth Magistrates Court for buying and selling vehicles without a licence.

The husband Ahmed Mohammed Yas Yas purchased 56 vehicles from private sellers as well as at auction and sold 53 of them, mostly via Gumtree, between June 2016 and December 2017. His wife Zinah Abdulhasan Hussein Hussein bought and sold 30 vehicles between May 2016 and September 2017. Neither held a licence as required by the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act.

Mr Yas was fined $7,000 and ordered to pay $729 in costs while Ms Hussein was fined $3,000 and ordered to pay $942 in costs on 3 August 2018. The couple were each granted a spent conviction order.

In May 2018, three brothers of Mr Yas were fined $12,500 each by the Perth Magistrates Court for unlicensed motor vehicle dealing, details in this statement:

Three brothers fined over major unlicensed dealing operation (Ali Mohammed Yas / Hussein Mohammed Yas Yas / Mustafa Mohammed Yas)

Commissioner for Consumer Protection David Hillyard said the conclusion of this Court case brings to an end to a major operation involving the unlicensed buying and selling of vehicles.

“With a total of 367 vehicles being traded by the four brothers and one of their wives over a 21 month period, it is by far the most extensive illegal motor vehicle dealing investigation in the history of Consumer Protection,” Mr Hillyard said.

"The four Yas brothers and Ms Hussein flouted the licensing laws to make a profit that robbed legitimate licensed dealers of valuable business and buyers of the vehicles were denied their consumer rights.

“Closing down this major unlicensed dealing operation means that the integrity of the motor vehicle industry is upheld and the warranty rights of consumers are protected.

“We need community support to combat this issue, so I appeal to people who have information about unlicensed dealing to come forward and report their suspicions so we can take action.”

Consumers can check whether a motor vehicle repairer is licensed by doing a search on the Consumer Protection website www.consumerprotection.wa.gov.au or look for the distinctive yellow and black sign with the tick of approval displayed at their premises. Unlicensed motor vehicle repairers can be reported by emailing consumer@dmirs.wa.gov.au or by calling 1300 30 40 54.

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Media Contact: Alan Hynd, (08) 6552 9248 / 0429 078 791 / alan.hynd@dmirs.wa.gov.au