Patrick Spiteri spared effective imprisonment after being found guilty of defrauding Leslie Bricusse

Disbarred lawyer Patrick Spiteri, initally sentenced to a two-year prison term for defrauding double Oscar winner and international composer Leslie Bricusse, was spared effective incarceration as an appeals court handed down a suspended sentence on Wednesday. 

In 1996, Spiteri had been recommended to Bricusse by his lawyer in France. Spiteri had advised Bricusse to invest in Malta government bonds and obtained a power-of-attorney to do so. Yet, the money was never invested as promised.

Spiteri had been found guilty of misappropriation in 2022 and was sentenced to an effective prison term of two years. However, he lodged an appeal. 

The Court of Appeal found that the version of events provided by the injured party was consistent in its substance and corroborated by other witnesses and voluminous documentary proof. Indeed, from the proof put forward it was clear that the victim had granted permission in writing to the defendant to use his monies specifically to acquire bonds. Yet, Spiteri withdrew such funds only to never invest them. 

The court said that although the appellant testified in detail, he failed to put forward a shred of evidence demonstrating the movement of monies he obtained from Bricusse, and namely what actually happened to such monies after he withdrew the relevant bank drafts. 

The court also considered whether the punishment meted out should be modified. Reference was made to the fact that Spiteri abused of the trust placed in him in his capacity as a lawyer by Bricusse.

Yet, the court also remarked that it could not ignore the fact that the parties agreed that Spiteri had returned the sum of €72,500, and that there is a reimbursement agreement between the parties still being fulfilled.

The court decided the punishment initially handed down should be modified so that the victim would not lose the opportunity to be repaid the monies unlawfully taken from him, even if Spiteri had only recently started repaying his debts due to the punishment of incarceration, notwithstanding that he had several years to do so. 

Spiteri was represented by lawyers Franco Debono and Mark Refalo.