Fake landlord jailed for seven years on fraud, misappropriation charges

A man who collected €5,650 in rental deposits for apartments which didn’t belong to him has been jailed for seven years on fraud and misappropriation charges

A man who collected €5,650 in rental deposits for apartments which didn’t belong to him has been jailed for seven years on fraud and misappropriation charges.

47-year-old Konrad Dimech from St. Paul’s Bay was charged with a total of 23 offences, including multiple counts of misappropriation and fraud. His victims were all foreign nationals who would respond to his Maltapark advertisements of rental properties and pay a deposit of between €250 and €1,100. But when the time came for them to move in, they would find the properties already occupied by legitimate tenants. He had conned his victims out of a total of €5,650.

Inspectors Shaun Friggieri from the Economic Crimes Unit and Elton Taliana from the St. Paul’s Bay district had arraigned the man in April last year.

In her judgment, Magistrate Marse-Ann Farrugia noted that the man had only admitted to the charges on 20 September this year. He had claimed to suffer from alcoholism, but the fact that he held down a receptionist job indicated otherwise, said the court.

The magistrate observed the suffering he had caused his victims, some of whom had young children with them, who ended up without a roof over their heads. In some cases, they had to sleep rough or in cars, at times during heavy storms, until they found other accommodation.

His punishment was increased by two grades due to the fact that the offence was deemed continuous.

In the circumstances, the court said that it was of the opinion that the ideal punishment would be one of incarceration not tending towards the minimum, apart from the compulsory reimbursing of his victims. His two-year suspended sentence was also rendered active.

For this reason, he was jailed for seven years and ordered to repay his victims.