More jail time for serial fraudster who conned wine merchant out of €3000

Serial fraudster Duncan Buttigieg has been jailed again after admitting to yet another scam, this time defrauding a wine importer out of some €3000.

The 34-year-old serial fraudster, who has multiple past convictions for fraud-related offences, pleaded guilty to charges of fraud, misappropriation, forgery, computer misuse and relapsing.

Magistrate Josette Demicoli noted that the man had a number of previous sentences and could not afford to repay the amount defrauded.

Buttigieg has an impressively long rap sheet, highlights of which include being charged for posing as a doctor and prescribing medicines without a medical licence in 2003, and appearing in court in February 2015, charged with trying to buy a Rolex watch using a stolen and forged cheque.

That crime had allegedly taken place while he had been on bail pending an appeal to a nine-year jail sentence for conning several individuals out of their money in a notorious car importation scam. He was jailed for two years in September 2016, for renting out a farmhouse that wasn’t his.

Although he had initially denied the accusations in question, which date back to 2009, Buttigieg had changed his plea to one of guilt, earlier this month.

The court, after taking into consideration the nature of the crimes, the circumstances of the case, the man’s criminal record of the accused and that fact that he had partially repaid the €3000 he had taken but was not able to continue making repayments, felt that a custodial sentence was merited.

Magistrate Demicoli handed Buttigeg an 11-month prison sentence.