‘You have a week to leave’: Court hears of threats in alleged loansharking case

A woman has told a court that while she was emptying the apartment where her late sister lived, a note was left on the front door in which she was told that she had a “week to pack everything and leave”. The note was signed by a “Maria Grixti”, who the witness did not know.

Criminal proceedings continued Friday against 45-year-old Keith Pace, his sons Carlos, 24, and Cleaven, 20, his partner, 49-year-old Maria Grixti, and his parents Lawrence and Emanuela Pace, both 73.

All stand accused of money laundering.

Keith Pace, Carlos Pace and Grixti were also accused of usury, otherwise known as loansharking. Keith, Cleaven and Carlos Pace were also accused of breaching bail.

They deny the charges.

A woman took the stand and explained to the court that her sister used to live in a property which was originally rented out by their late father in Sliema. Once her sister passed away, she went to clear up the house on different days after work. One day, she found that someone left a paper against the door in which she was told to clear it up and leave the residence within a week. The paper was signed by “Maria Grixti” and there was a mobile number also listed on it.

She ignored the paper and two days later she went and found a second print out similar to the first one, and a chain against the door. The woman removed the chain and padlock and entered inside. That night, through CCTV cameras she spotted unidentified individuals rattling the door and placing a chain. She then received a phone call from Grixti who told her “get out of my residence, because it is mine since I inherited it.”

“I don’t know you. I know the owner and you have nothing to do with this house,” the witness told the caller, who replied with threats and insults.

The witness named the owner recalling that she had accompanied her father in the 1990s to pay the rent.  

 ‘You have nothing to do with that place’

The cameras were disconnected and the woman filed a police report, first at Valletta police station and then at the one in Sliema where she explained to the sergeant on duty what had happened.

“It’s like she [the sergeant] ignored me and brushed me off saying we shall call her,” the woman said, adding that she suggested to the officer they should check the owner’s will, to which the sergeant replied: “I shall see to the case.”

Later the sergeant called the witness up telling her: “You’ve got nothing to do with that place because I’ve seen the contract.”

When she went to ARMS to inform them that her sister passed away, the agent seeing to her case suggested she seeks legal advice, after the company informed her that they would need to remove the electricity meter, and she explained that she did not have access to the property.

The woman recalled receiving calls in which she was threatened by different male and female callers from multiple numbers which were not known to her. The witness explained that Grixti threatened her and told her to drop the report against her, which the woman did because she feared her. The woman had invited Grixti to resolve the meter issue but the latter never did, until January 2026 when she called the witness to fix it.

The woman then presented a number of screenshots showing the different calls she received at different times of the day and night. She also presented the letter left at the door, among other things.

The witness explained that Grixti’s daughter had messaged her over WhatsApp telling her that the house was owned by Pace and sent her a copy of the contract after the accused were arrested and arraigned in court.

The woman explained that she sought assistance from the Housing Authority but they could not help since it was a lease between private individuals. She also found out that the landlady had passed away and had no heirs, and that Keith Pace was renting out the place to third parties.

Under cross-examination, it was suggested that the woman requested a substantial amount of money to give the accused the keys to the house. The witness denied, insisting that they had not asked for the keys.

“After their arrest, her [Grixti’s] daughter messaged me and asked me to cover the expenses carried out. A person who identified himself as an agent started calling me and demanding rent,” the witness said.

Borrowed €1,500, agreed to repay €3,000

Another witness took the stand on Friday morning and recognised Keith Pace, his son Carlos, and Maria Grixti. He explained that he had spoken to a friend as he wanted to borrow some money, who then referred him to Keith Pace. The witness borrowed €1,500 and agreed on €3,000 repayment. When he borrowed the money, the witness did not inform Pace that he was without a job, and gave Pace his car as a guarantee.

Eventually the man found a job, but missed his first payment, which was only done two or three months after he borrowed the money.

The witness said he paid him via Revolut or cash, and gave him €500 a month, sometimes even more for six or seven months. Pace would pick up the cash from near the man’s home.

The man recalled begging Pace not to scrap his 2019 Nissan Juke. He explained that his road licence and insurance coverage had elapsed and after the witness paid back €3,000 he started receiving fines.

The witness explained that Pace refused to give him the car and wanted an additional €300.

Asked where the car was now, he said that it was being held in a field owned by his friend until he pays up the licence and insurance.

“On January 10, 2025, I opened my emails and found 10 fines and 15 points on my licence,” the witness said, adding that he had explained to the authorities that there will be issues if he tried to take the car back from Pace.

The man called up a towing service and went outside Pace’s house in Marsa. Using the spare key he opened the car, setting off the alarm. Grixti emerged out of the house first followed by Carlos Pace. A physical altercation ensued, and the police came at the scene. The man took his car and left.

The man clarified that the original key was still with Pace, and that he had asked for it, offering to drop the police report concerning the fight.

The defence suggested that Grixti was holding her youngest son when she emerged and that the witness held a screwdriver, which was why Carlos Pace came to her assistance. The witness denied holding a screwdriver and said it was a metal lever he had at the back of the car, which he only took out after Carlos Pace threatened to shoot him.

Witness sent to lock up ‘until she calms down’

During Friday’s sitting, the court ordered that one of the witnesses who is allegedly a victim of usury is held in the court’s lock up until she calms down.

The woman was first to take the stand and insisted she had nothing to tell the court since this was something that happened in 2023 and 2024, and that “chapter had been closed”.

The woman insisted on being assisted by her lawyer, who ‘could not attend because he was at a jury’ and said she did not want to “create problems for third parties”.

The court explained to the woman over and over again, that she could not refuse to testify and that she has to, after it was confirmed that there were no criminal proceedings against her and no criminal action will be taken.

The woman insisted that she had spoken to the police, told them that the reports that had been filed were true “but the chapter was closed”. She then mentioned separate criminal proceedings before magistrate Astrid May Grima relating to “borrowing some money”.

In court it emerged that the police had summoned her on two separate occasions but she failed to appear, instead opting to visit the FCID offices in Santa Venera. On Friday, the police issued an escort warrant to ensure the woman appears in court.

The sitting was briefly interrupted due to a heated exchange.

The court insisted on knowing why the witness was set not to testify in the proceedings. The woman insisted that her police reports were true but the case had been resolved. The prosecution insisted that there were no proceedings against the woman.

“I am suffering the consequences of my father’s actions. I needed some money, and Pace lent them to me. I told everything to police inspector Rotin,” the woman insisted.

“Careful you might be found in contempt of court,” magistrate Lara Lanfranco said, adding: “waste your time again, and tell this court what you told to the police inspector.”

The woman then said she had borrowed €1,000 and they agreed on conditions. The woman was waiting for some money which she would have used to repay Pace but this money never arrived. For this reason, she gave Pace her Toyota Vitz.

The woman said she has been waiting for three years trying to get some money out of court, but has not yet succeeded.

She explained that she had arguments with Pace, because she was meant to repay the €1,000 in four weeks but it took much longer, so that she ended up giving her car, which she said was worth over €3,000.

When it was pointed out that in her declaration to the police she mentioned a car worth €8,500, the woman clarified that this vehicle in question was the one from which Pace took the number plates, only to return them in the evening after the report was filed.

It then emerged that the woman borrowed €1,000 twice. She was reluctant to delve into details. The woman recalled a phone call from Ħamrun police station where they asked her to take her car, but she could not since there were outstanding payments with the Pace.

The woman’s attitude and rebuttals earned her a couple of hours in the lock up in court until she calmed down.

When she returned on Friday afternoon, the woman confirmed she had borrowed €1,000 on two separate occasions.

A representative of the social security department testified on Friday about the benefits Keith Pace, Maria Grixti, Lawrence Pace, Emanuela Pace and Carlos Pace received through the years. Cleaven Pace did not receive any benefits.

A Housing Authority representative testified that he found one lease agreement on Cleaven Pace concerning a residence in Marsa. The contract was still active. There was one lease agreement registered on Maria Grixti for a Xgħajra property, this was no longer active. In the case of Keith Pace, there were eight active lease agreements on as many properties, three of which are on the same road in Tarxien.

Police inspector Lianne Bonello requested direction from the court in connection with the tenants, who are mostly third country nationals, who need to renew their rental contracts and need to pay rent, and are having to confront third parties claiming that they are collecting the rent on behalf of Pace.

The court explained that the individuals in question would need to seek a lawyer’s advice.

At the end of the sitting, bail was requested for Cleaven Pace and Carlos Pace.

Lawyer Marion Camilleri argued that the alleged victims who testified on Friday did not mention Cleaven Pace and neither recognised him. She argued that there was no real fear that her client would tamper with the evidence. She underlined that her client’s intention was to work once out of prison. She also drew the court’s attention to the fact that Lawrence Pace, who was absent for Friday’s sitting, is set to undergo surgery, and his wife and Carlos Pace’s grandmother, needs help.

Prosecutor Miguel Taliana observed that Cleaven Pace had no work and no prospective employer had been summoned to testify that they were willing to employ him. He also highlighted that the witnesses in the case do not consist only of victims of loansharking but also the tenants at the residences registered on the Pace family. He added that it is not yet clear what title the Pace family hold over the property except for one, where Keith Pace has a share.

For Carlos Pace, lawyer Adreana Zammit explained that the man has three children who he needs to maintain. She explained that he has already been under preventive custody for two months in connection with the case. The defence lawyer explained that her client had been previously employed and holds a driver tag and could work as a cab driver. She added that the mother of his girlfriend was willing to help him out.

The court is set to rule on the bail requests from its chambers.

The case continues later this month.

Magistrate Lara Lanfranco presided.

AG lawyers Neville Galea and Michael Muscat prosecuted, assisted by police inspector Lianne Bonello.  

Defence lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Adreana Zammit appeared for all six defendants. Lawrence Pace and Emanuela Pace were also assisted by lawyers Arthur Azzopardi and Jacob Magri.