'Greedy' DVLA worker jailed after fiddling records and documents so car dealers could sell unroadworthy vehicles worth £1.3m

By RICHARD MARSDEN, GENERAL REPORTER Published: 14:49, 5 June 2026 | Updated: 14:51, 5 June 2026 A fiddling DVLA worker has been jailed after changing the records of written-off and stolen vehicles so they could be sold by used car dealers for almost £1.3million. Public servant Matthew Holloway, 32, used his official access at the organisation's headquarters in Swansea to ‘manipulate and falsify’ documents to declare written-off vehicles as roadworthy. A court heard Holloway deleted accident records and keeper histories of luxury cars, quadbikes and motorbikes including Ferraris, BMWs and Audis and issued them with fake documents. He worked alongside second-hand car dealers Joshua Sawyer, 32, and Ashley Harries, 44, who paid him more than £23,000 for boosting their profits. A judge said the trio worked as an ‘organised crime’ operation to ‘undermine the very function of the DVLA’ – meaning unroadworthy vehicles were on the highway. Swansea Crown Court heard Holloway was also linked to altering documents on a series of vehicles on behalf of unidentified others. Prosecutor Craig Jones said Holloway and his co-defendants had taken part in ‘a systematic campaign of vehicle document tampering, laundering previously written-off vehicles, enabling the sale or use of cloned, reconstructed or otherwise ineligible vehicles’. Mr Jones said Holloway ‘manipulated DVLA records by issuing V5C logbooks or registration certificates without valid applications’. Matthew Holloway, who worked at the DVLA's headquarters, was motivated by 'greed' Other records changed included vehicle identification numbers, the registered keeper, accident or scrap details and certificates of destruction issued in other jurisdiction such as Australia, the court was told. Mr Jones said Holloway issued a fresh registration certificate for a Ferrari 458 Italia that had been written-off in Australia so it could be sold for £115,000. He said he also fiddled two BMW M Competition vehicles on behalf of Harris by deleting changes to their previous keepers and deleting damage markers to boost their value by £9,000. The court heard Sawyer and Harris both owned car dealerships in the Swansea area, with trained mechanic Sawyer in charge of Jaax Autos and Harris associated with ‘a number of enterprises or companies’. Mr Jones said: ‘Holloway didn't only manipulate documents on behalf of the other named defendants. There are numerous examples of his carrying out alterations and illegally accessing the system on behalf of other individuals and companies. ‘Holloway's actions resulted in approximately £27,500 in fees due to the DVLA not being paid. ‘His actions in relation to their change of status from write-offs to roadworthy vehicles resulted in a potential increase in their combined value of £1.29million.’ The three men, all of Swansea, admitted conspiracy to commit fraud - with Harris having a previous conviction for a similar offence in 2017. Ashley Harris, jailed for two years and eight months, who had a previous conviction from 2017 trained mechanic and garage owner Joshua Sawyer took part in the £1.3m conspiracy Sentencing, Judge Huw Rees said: ‘This is an example of organised crime which had the effect of undermining the very function of the DVLA in multiple ways. ‘It seriously affects the roadworthiness of vehicles on the public highway. It did so by invalidating the integrity of vehicle records. ‘This is offending which will cause considerable public concern to road users and others.’ He told Holloway he had ‘undermined the reliability of the system we have in this country of motor vehicle registration. ‘You manipulated those records in many different ways, you did so simply for gain - and greed is at the heart of your offending.’ Holloway was jailed for five years and three months, Sawyer for two years and four months and Harris for two years and eight months. Speaking after the sentence, Lisa McCarthy, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘The evidence revealed an organised effort to alter vehicle documentation, including changing records to conceal the true status and history of vehicles. ‘Holloway held a trusted position within the DVLA and exploited that role, as did Harris and Sawyer, for financial benefit. ‘Their offending risked corrupting the UK’s vehicle registration system, which the public, motor trade and law enforcement depend on for accurate information.’ The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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