A 31-year-old man from Ghaxaq has been jailed a total of nine years after admitting to defrauding almost 100 people of more than €120,000 when he took deposits to import cars from the UK but never delivering them.
Magistrate Ian Farrugia also jailed fraudster Duncan Buttigieg for a year after hearing him admit to defrauding the government over social benefits he was receiving by declaring he was unemployed.
The court heard how Mr Buttigieg, who has several other fraud cases pending before different magistrates, defrauded his clients as a director of Direct From UK Car Dealer and of Direct Cars Malta.
The police Economic Crimes Unit had been "flooded" with complaints against Mr Buttigieg in October 2012, when several people who had paid deposits of between €1,500 and €6,000 for cars from the UK realised that they had been fooled and turned to the police for protection.
Mr Buttigieg also has a pending case where he stands charged with conspiring to burn the garage and car of Inspector Angelo Gafà, who at the time was a prosecutor from the Economic Crimes Unit.
Magistrate Farrugia noted that Mr Buttigieg already had 10 convictions on his criminal record. He also noted that there was no prospect for the clients to recoup the money that they had paid for the imaginary cars.
The court said Mr Buttigieg had created the car importation websites to give the impression that he was an experienced car dealer, fooling his clients into believing that he would deliver the cars of their dreams. The magistrate said the accused created a "precise and calculated" ploy to fool people.
Given his "worrying" criminal record, Magistrate Farrugia accepted a plea bargaining agreement struck by the prosecution and defence over the four cases related to fraud involving the importation of cars and one case regarding the misappropriation of social benefits. According to law, the crimes carried between two and nine years in jail for each case.
He was jailed for two years over the four cases and a year for defrauding the government.
Mr Buttigieg intends appealing the judgment.
Police Inspector Ian Abdilla prosecuted while lawyer Noel Bianco appeared for the man.