A fraudster from Saltford near Bristol who generated more than £2m by tricking tens of thousands of people into paying for fake government websites has been jailed.
Thomas William Gall, 42, was handed a two-year and three months prison sentence at Bristol Crown Court on 31 October 2025 after pleading guilty to fraudulent trading. He was also given a 10-year director disqualification.
Gall and his criminal partner Shezad Parvez, 46, from Maidenhead, ran more than 40 misleading websites, scamming more than 120,000 people into paying for services such as road tolls and fishing licences, deceiving them into thinking they were government services.
The two men used sponsored links and Google ads to push their sites, such as Dartford Crossing and the London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), to the top of online searches.
The investigation, led by the National Trading Standards and hosted by two Yorkshire councils, discovered fraudulent trading between January 2018 and November 2019.
The defendants would also pay official bodies and pocket the difference between the official price and their inflated charge. Sometimes, no payment would be made, which led to more than 780 penalty charge notices being issued across eight months to customers who had used the fake sites to pay the Dart Charge.
Gall and Parvez also charged for free services that the government provides, with people paying £20 to register a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) with the DVLA.
The fraudsters continued to trade after Google suspended their advertising sites and received warnings from the National Trading Standards.
Mike Andrews, Head of the eCrime Team, says the duo were motivated by “pure greed”. He said: “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 outcome, and proud of our teams who work hard to remove misleading websites and bring the criminals that operate them to justice.”
Operators of the Dart Charge, National Highways 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.”
Another service targeted was the ULEZ charges, operated by Transport for London (TfL). Christina Calderato, TfL’s Director of Strategy, says the offenders ‘ripped off’ and ‘betrayed the trust’ of “those honestly trying to pay road user charges in London.”
She added: “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. We continue to urge drivers to only pay through the official Transport for London website, and anyone affected by such scams should report it.”
More than a third of Brits would look in the wrong place for government services online, according to National Trading Standards research.
Report the scam to Action Fraud online or call 0300 123 2040.
You can get advice through the Citizens Advice Consumer Service
0808 223 1133
www.adviceguide.org.uk