A used car company that is being accused of fraud by disgruntled clients has put up a poster mocking lawyer Jason Azzopardi, who is leading the case against the firm.
No Deposit Cars Malta affixed the poster to the front of their showroom in Qormi and also shared an image of it on social media, along with the message "Happy Easter to our favourite Peeps!"
The poster features Azzopardi’s face on the body of a priest, with the message ‘Happy Easter 2023 to all’. The background features a tomb in Israel where Jesus Christ was purportedly laid after he was crucified.
Azzopardi is representing a group of 26 people who are preparing to take legal action against No Deposit Cars, alleging that the company defrauded them and evaded tax.
Customers allege, among other things, that the company tracked them, issued incorrect insurance documents and repossessed vehicles without informing customers.
The company says the disgruntled customers are just trying to get out of contracts they signed.
It is the second time in days that the company has targeted Azzopardi directly in its marketing material, in what appear to be intimidatory tactics in light of its legal troubles.
Last week, the company released a video in which it lashed out at Azzopardi and three individual clients who are among the 26 taking legal action against it.
The video included personal information about those clients.
The imagery used by No Deposit Cars in its Easter poster is a dig at Azzopardi’s ‘Tomb of Christ’ experience. Azzopardi’s former wife had claimed that he had told her he spent a night in Israel at Christ’s tomb praying, when in reality he was in Israel with his lover.
Azzopardi’s 2017 trip to Israel had become public after it emerged that he stayed at the Tel Aviv Hilton for free, with Ray Fenech of the Tumas Group picking up the tab.
Apart from legal action by disgruntled customers, No Deposit Cars is also under scrutiny from the Data Protection Commissioner and Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority after Times of Malta revealed that the company installs GPS trackers on its vehicles, allowing it to spy on customers.
The company says the trackers are mentioned in contracts signed by customers.
Data Protection Commissioner Ian Deguara told Times of Malta that the contract terms are in violation of the EU’s GDPR data privacy directive and described them as “not acceptable… [and] very invasive.”
No Deposit Cars is owned by alleged kidnapper Christian Borg, whose other firms are also facing legal trouble. The company’s sole director is former Labour Party photographer Joseph Camenzuli.
PN MEP David Casa recalled Borg's business ties to Prime Minister Robert Abela, as he condemned No Deposit Cars' poster as "absolutely unacceptable".
"Criminally prosecuted director with close ties to Robert Abela, threatens clients he allegedly defrauded, and their lawyer with apparent impunity," he tweeted.