63-year-old jailed for cheque fraud

A court has sentenced a 63-year-old St. Paul’s Bay resident to two years' imprisonment after hearing how he had used dishonoured cheques to defraud several companies in 2003.

The man, Anthony Bezzina, had been accused of purchasing items from S. Rausi Trading, Dolce Freschi, Ray’s Jewellers and Lorry Farrugia Wines and Spirits in April and May of 2003, using cheques which would invariably be dishonoured.

The court heard a BOV representative explain how the account tied to the chequebook had been closed in April 2003 after it received several reports of cheques bouncing due to insufficient funds.

The account had been created in 1996, with an opening balance equivalent to €93, said the bank representative, a balance which had not been exceeded in the intervening years until its closure in 2003. The bank had requested Bezzina return the chequebook but this request was never fulfilled.

Bezzina had told the court that he had tried to deposit funds into the account, but had not been successful.

Magistrate Giovanni Grixti was absolutely unconvinced by Bezzina’s excuse however, saying that by no stretch of the imagination could the court believe his account. He sentenced the man to two years' imprisonment.