Maidenhead fraudster given suspended jail sentence for ‘copycat’ Government websites

A Maidenhead man has been handed a two-year suspended jail sentence after running more than 40 misleading websites that tricked people into overpaying for Government services.

The elaborate scam by Shezad Parvez and Thomas William Gall generated over £2.25m in revenue from websites designed to mislead consumers into thinking they were on the ‘official’ site.

The two men charged inflated prices for services such as road tolls, e.g. the Dartford Crossing and the London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), on websites that each followed a similar format with disclaimers buried in the small print.

They were sentenced on Friday, October 31, at Bristol Crown Court following an investigation led by the National Trading Standards eCrime Team, hosted by North Yorkshire Council and the City of York Council.

Head of the National Trading Standards eCrime Team, Mike Andrews, said: “What drove this pair was pure greed. Despite multiple warnings, they persisted in fleecing thousands of innocent people who were just going about their business.

"I’m really pleased with today’s (Friday) outcome, and proud of our teams who work hard to remove misleading websites and bring the criminals that operate them to justice.”

Parvez, 46, of Cookham Road, Maidenhead and Gall, 42, of Avon Farm, Saltford, Bristol, used sponsored links and Google ads to push their websites to the top of online search results.

Sometimes they would pay the official body and pocket the difference, for example, ‘paydartfordcrossing.co.uk’ charged £7.50 per crossing instead of the official £2.50 price.

But often no payment was made, and more than 780 penalty charge notices (PCNs) were issued in eight months to customers who had used the defendants’ various websites to pay the Dartford Crossing charges managed by National Highways.

The defendants even charged for government services that were actually free, with customers paying £19.99 to register a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) with the DVLA.

Upon realising they had been duped, many victims complained and cancelled their payments, which led various payment service providers to raise the alarm.

Google also suspended multiple advertising accounts, but despite repeated warnings from Trading Standards, the defendants continued trading.

The main government services targeted by the defendants included European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC), Environment Agency fishing licences and Mersey Gateway Toll charges. 

Examples of misleading websites were 'ehicregistration.co.uk', 'fishingandrodlicence.co.uk' or 'paymerseygatewaytoll.co.uk'.

While all PCNs were cancelled once reported and customers supported, this caused significant stress and confusion and cost taxpayers time and money.

A National Highways spokesperson said: “We understand how frustrating and upsetting it can be for people who’ve unknowingly used unofficial websites and ended up paying more – or worse, receiving a penalty notice. That’s why we’ve worked closely with Trading Standards to take action against these fraudulent operators.

"These prosecutions demonstrate the importance of working together to protect customers. We’ll keep supporting anyone affected and remind people to always use the official Dart Charge site on GOV.UK.”

Parvez and Gall pleaded guilty in September 2025 to fraudulent trading between January 1 2018, and November 19 2019, and were handed sentences on Friday, October 31.

Gall received a two-year and three-month jail sentence and a 10-year director disqualification.

Parvez received a two-year jail sentence, suspended for two years, 200 hours of unpaid community work and up to 20 rehabilitation activity days. He has also been disqualified from being a director for six years.

Following the sentencing, National Trading Standards is urging people to visit GOV.UK to find government services online and avoid being caught out by the copycats.

A key service targeted was the London ULEZ charges, operated by Transport for London (TfL).

Christina Calderato, TfL’s Director of Strategy, said: “These individuals have used copycat websites to rip people off and betrayed the trust of those honestly trying to pay road user charges in London.

"Not only have the victims of these scams been unable to pay for the charges they incurred, but they have had the stress of receiving fines as a result of this fraudulent activity.

"We welcome this sentencing and hope those affected find some comfort in these criminals being brought to justice.

"This prosecution by National Trading Standards sends a message to those considering similar malicious activity: you will be caught and you will face the consequences of your actions."