Dubai court orders woman to pay Dh745,000 after buying Porsche with forged cheque

Dubai: The Dubai civil court has ordered an Arab woman to pay nearly Dh745,000 in compensation after she duped a European man into handing over his Porsche Carrera with a forged cheque, in a case that has drawn attention to the risks of high-value online sales.

According to court documents, the victim had listed his luxury car for sale on an online marketplace when the woman contacted him, expressing interest in buying it at the listed price of Dh695,000.

The pair met at a vehicle licensing centre, where she reinforced her claims with a counterfeit sales contract and a falsified manager’s cheque. Believing the transaction legitimate, the man transferred ownership of the Porsche to a third party provided by the woman—only to later discover the cheque was fraudulent.

When his bank notified him that the payment instrument was fake, the man alerted police. Prosecutors charged the woman with fraud, and a Dubai criminal court convicted her, sentencing her to one month in prison with the sentence suspended for three years. She was also fined the full value of the car. Her appeal was rejected, and the judgment became final.

The victim then filed a civil lawsuit, demanding Dh695,000 to cover the vehicle’s value and an additional Dh200,000 in damages for the psychological and material harm he suffered. He told the court that the fraud deprived him not only of his car but also of the chance to reinvest the money in another vehicle, causing disruptions to his personal and professional life.

In its ruling, the Dubai civil court underscored that the fraudulent transfer had inflicted both financial and emotional harm. Citing legal precedent, the judges said that damages for emotional distress could include harm to dignity and mental well-being. The court awarded the man Dh695,000 for the car and an additional Dh50,000 for emotional damages, bringing the total compensation to Dh745,000.