Company director jailed for misappropriation

A former company director has been jailed for almost three years for pocketing funds intended to pay for television advertising slots and for swindling a couple out of almost €25,000.

Donald Micallef, the 35-year old director of Market Handle Ltd, was the defendant in two separate cases of fraud, misappropriation and forgery.

The first case began with complaint from WE Advertise Ltd who had sold the accused, who was acting as agent for his clients, advertising slots on Television Malta. The court was told that on one occasion the accused had held on to the full sum entrusted to him by YAL Home and Electronics, instead of paying the required fees to PBS and retaining his 15% agency commission.

In the second case, Micallef had persuaded a couple to lend him some €25,000 with which he intended to secure a bank loan. He had assured the husband and wife that the bank loan would come through in three weeks and had promised them Lm2,500 for the favour.

But in both cases, the accused’s promises proved to be hollow. The money entrusted to him for advertising was used to cover instalments on the purchase of a car and the accused had also helped himself to the couple’s money for his own purposes.

The court, presided in both cases by magistrate Joseph Mifsud, observed that while all evidence pointed towards Micallef as the ‘mastermind’ behind the swindle, Celine Lee Bentley, a company official charged alongside the man did not appear to have been aware of the crimes.

Micallef had testifying on oath, telling the court that he was “the person in charge to find suppliers, find clients and make sure that everything was running smoothly”, noted the court while Bentley had never been involved in any transactions.

The court concluded that the prosecution had failed to prove that Bentley had been “in any way aware of the facts” leading to the criminal proceedings.

Bentley was acquitted of all charges, while Micallef was found guilty and handed separate jail sentences of 2 years and 9 months. He was also ordered to refund the €25,000 he scammed from the couple within 6 months.