Car import scammer gets nine years

A man who received more than €120,000 from nearly 100 clients in a car importation scam has been jailed for nine years.

Magistrate Ian Farrugia jailed Duncan Buttigieg, 31, from Ghaxaq after hearing how Buttigieg’s businesses, “Direct From UK Car Dealer” and “Direct Cars Malta” failed to deliver the vehicles, in spite of taking deposits ranging from €1500 to €6000 from clients.

He was jailed for an additional year after he admitted to fraudulently claiming unemployment benefits.

The police Economic Crimes Unit had received multiple complaints from cheated client against Buttigieg's companies in late 2012.

The court held that Buttigieg’s slickly presented websites had helped feed the illusion of him being a reputable car dealer and were a “precise and calculated” artifice. It noted that the prospect of the victims being refunded was remote.

Buttigieg, who is undergoing separate proceedings on charges of conspiracy to burn down the garage and car of a prosecutor from the ECU, also has 10 prior convictions on his criminal record.

Every instance of the crime is punishable by two to nine years imprisonment, however the court accepted a plea bargaining agreement between the prosecution and defence and handed down a nine-year sentence.