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A woman who had exchanged her car keys at a used car dealership as part of an elaborate scheme to obtain car loans has been released from court.
Natalie Ferre, 50, posed as a would-be visitor to get the keys to two cars at Stratus Cars near Basingstoke in Hampshire.
But when their backs were turned, Ferré, with soft fingers, exchanged the keys for similar ones before handing them back.
He then passed the keys to a third party, who stole a black Peugeot and a white Volkswagen on the spot.
Bosses at the dealership, which sells around 250 used vehicles, only realized the cars were gone after conducting a stock check a few days later.
The Peugeot was later recovered, but the Volkswagen was never found.
Appearing before Southampton Magistrates’ Court, Ferre, of Middle Park Way in Leigh Park, near Havant, pleaded guilty to a single count of burglary, adding burglary by observation.
The man accused of stealing the Peugeot, 23-year-old Charlie Cordwell, was also due to appear in court but did not appear.
The court hearing, which he attended through the car dealership, explained the case confusing by the fact that Ferre was recently serving a suspended sentence for stealing a vehicle valued at £37,000 belonging to Eclipse Car Sales in Winchester.
This offence occurred in November 2022, after the Stratus Cars incident, and was given a one-year criminal sentence, suspended for 12 months, by Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court last December.
Describing the case, prosecutor David Finney said, “The victim in this case is a company called Stratus Cars. They have 250 cars on site, from scrap steel to Range Rovers.
He stated that the owner arrived at the frames [on June 26, 2022] and discovered that the door was missing a padlock and chain, however there were no symptoms at the time that any of the vehicles had been attempted.
“He saw that the lock was broken and there was no CCTV on that side to cover that door. He then saw the theft of two cars and an accessories warehouse on July 1, about five days later.
“The cars he was interested in were a black Peugeot and a white Volkswagen. These cars may not have been located, although there were Volkswagen and Peugeot key fobs in the office intended for them.
He added: “Another member said he remembered showing those two cars to a girl who asked him to hand over the keys.
“He explained that she arrived at the dealership in a Mercedes and returned the keys to him and told him that in all likelihood he would come back to see one.
“The license plate of the Mercedes [in which he was traveling] was stolen and discovered with false plates and related to two people, neither of whom was the accused.
“The owners of the company now that the woman who first entered took the keys and gave the showroom two similar but different keys before handing the original keys to the other people who then returned to borrow the cars” .
As mitigation, Jane Joslin said Ferré had suffered a “mental breakdown” some time before her keys were stolen and admitted she had “fallen in love with people. “
She added that the key theft and vehicle theft for which she was convicted last year were tackled together at an earlier date.
Joslin said: “At the time the crimes occurred, in 2022, she was suffering from a nervous breakdown.
“During this depression, she discovered drugs and that’s why she cared about people. He was then asked to go into the showroom and exchange the keychains.
“She didn’t borrow this vehicle. He regrets his movements and has no wonderful memories of that time due to his intellectual aptitude and drug problems.
“He’s been using drugs or alcohol for 14 months and has moved in with his sister. “
After hearing all the testimonies, the magistrates agreed to grant Ferré, who was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, 12 months of probation.
The resolution means that she will be convicted of this crime until she commits other crimes in the next 12 months.
However, he was ordered to pay a fine of £85 plus a fine surcharge to the victim of £21.
A warrant was issued for Cordwell’s arrest after he failed to appear in court. No order has been given to him.
Jack joined the car dealership team in 2021 as a copywriter. In the past he worked as a journalist for a national newspaper for the BNPS news agency. He has provided automotive news and reports for several national publications, including The Sun, The Times. and The Daily Mirror.
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