Disbarred lawyer Patrick Spiteri has had a two-year jail term changed to a suspended sentence following an appeal.

Spiteri was found guilty in 2022 of defrauding award-winning composer Leslie Bricusse of £150,000 (€180,000 in today’s money).

The case dates back to 2001, when Spiteri handled an investment Bricusse made in Malta bonds.

Bricusse, who has since died, told police he was given “false” papers by Spiteri showing that the promised investment had been made.

Judge Edwina Grima upheld the original guilty verdict against Spiteri.

She however spared Spiteri prison, instead converting the original judgment to a suspended sentence.

The court noted that Spiteri had only recently started repaying Bricusse’s heirs to the tune of €72,500.

It said the jail term handed down by the previous court was being revised so Bricusse’s heirs would not lose out on the chance of being repaid in full.

Spiteri was represented in the case by lawyers Mark Refalo and Franco Debono. 

This is not Spiteri’s only brush with the law.

A court said in 2022 that the lawyer spent years “on the run” fleeing justice.

He has faced charges of fraud and misappropriation to the tune of €7.4 million over a case dating back to 2008. 

While criminal proceedings were ongoing, Spiteri fled the island and was eventually forced back from the UK after he was arrested there following an investigation by The Sunday Times of Malta that tracked him down.