A suspect fraudster who allegedly duped his victims into forking out deposits for property deals that failed to materialise was denied bail upon his arraignment on Tuesday.

Prosecuting Inspectors Sarah K. Zerafa and Paul Camilleri said the accused, Victor Lofreda, 38 of Gudja would respond to adverts by Facebook users searching for a garage to rent, getting in touch with them and informing them about a third-party who owned the kind of property they were after.

That ‘owner’ actually turned out to be the suspect himself who would eventually meet the unsuspecting prospective lessees, taking their deposit and then vanishing into thin air.

He would also issue a fake receipt under false names, the court was told.

That pattern was allegedly adopted on four separate occasions since September 2019, with the most recent episode taking place earlier this month.

Lofreda pleaded not guilty to fraud, breaching earlier bail conditions and recidivism.

Defence lawyers Franco Debono and Francesca Zarb requested bail, arguing that the accused had cooperated with police and suggesting that the court could impose bail supervision.

But the prosecution objected, pointing out that Lofreda had a gambling problem and was also in trouble linked to usury.

Although he seemed to be making an effort to kick his gambling habit, data on his mobile phone appeared to show otherwise, the prosecution argued further.

In light of those submissions, Magistrate Joseph Mifsud turned down the request for bail, whilst urging prison authorities to draw up a care plan to help the accused overcome his gambling and other personal problems.