A 41-year-old man from Marsascala was jailed for two years yesterday, after he was found guilty of defrauding a man out of Lm6,000 and of relapsing.

Mark Lawrence Rizzo was found guilty of defrauding Nathaniel Gatt out of Lm6,000, on and before 29 September 2005.

The case began when Mr Gatt had given Rizzo Lm1,000, so that he could buy him some confectionary equipment at good rates.

As time went by, Rizzo kept coming up with a number of excuses, asking Mr Gatt for more money. Mr Gatt had believed him and had given him more than Lm6,000.

Rizzo was also found guilty of collecting Lm80 owed to Mr Gatt from Raymond Sultana without Mr Gatt’s authorisation, after Mr Sultana had been involved in a traffic accident with Mr Gatt.

Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera presided over the case and police inspector Joseph Cordina prosecuted.