Disgraced notary is spared jail on appeal

A disgraced notary has had an effective prison term revoked on appeal and instead he was handed down a two-year prison sentence suspended for four years by the Court of Criminal Appeal.

Former notary Pierre Falzon and Peter Agius were convicted in December 2021 of deceitfully selling a property in Paola that had already been used by HSBC as a guarantee against a pending loan. The developer – Agius - was handed a 20-month jail term suspended for four years.

Falzon was found guilty of forging public documents, forging private documents, giving false declarations or information, and fraudulent gain, among other charges.

The Court of Magistrates had suspended his notarial warrant for five years and slapped him with a general interdiction.

The case involved the sale of a property in December 2007, on which a profit of €86,186 was made to the detriment of Geot Developments and Mary Violet Mifsud.

Agius had partnered with Geot Developments Limited to develop a piece of land on Triq il-Baċir il-Ġdid in Paola. The company took out a loan from HSBC to finance the development and the property was subjected to hypothecs in favour of the bank to ensure that the money would be paid.

In December 2007, Agius entered into a promise of sale agreement with Mifsud, promising her a penthouse in the development. The contract was done in the acts of Falzon, who was a notary at the time.

In September 2008, Mifsud entered into a constitution of debt, which was published in the acts of notary Elena Farrugia, as a means to guarantee for the penthouse.

While carrying out archive searches on the property, Farrugia encountered problems, and found that the property was not freehold since it was still the subject of hypothecs and privileges in favour of HSBC. Moreover, Agius did not have the authorisation to transfer the said property to Mifsud, with the court ruling that Agius had deceived Geot Developments and Mifsud when he appeared for the sale of the penthouse and gave false information about his representative capacity.

The contract was rescinded in May 2009, and both the notary and the developer were charged in court.

After they were sentenced, Falzon filed an appeal in which he outlined several grievances. He argued that the punishment was “exaggerated” and that being a public officer was an “essential” element of the offence and not an aggravating circumstance.

He also argued that the fact he was a notary should not have been used against him. After taking into consideration the length of the proceedings, the man’s criminal record and a  social inquiry report, the court varied the sentence changing it from an effective prison term to a suspended sentence.

It retained the general interdiction and the suspension of the notarial warrant for five years.

Mr Justice Neville Camilleri presided. Police Inspector Rennie Stivala was the case prosecutor.

Lawyers Michael Sciriha and Roberto Spiteri represented the accused.