A court has begun hearing evidence against Kenneth Portelli, who is accused of defrauding employees and forging documents in an alleged employment scam.

The case centers on a falsified declaration stating that the eatery Shakes n Bakes required 20 workers, including waiters and delivery staff - a claim its owner, Christian Mansueto, has categorically denied.

On Tuesday, Inspector Karl Roberts told the court that back in 2023, he was informed by the Head of Compliance at Identita that certain documents submitted by a temping agency were suspected as having been falsified.

The court was presented with a declaration of posting provided by a company allegedly on behalf of the eatery Shakes n Bakes. In the declaration, it appeared as if Shakes n Bakes was requesting 20 employees, including delivery personnel, cashiers, and waiters. However, suspicions arose that this declaration was fraudulent.

A witness that was supposed to testify, who was already sentenced, had told the court that it was Portelli who gave her the fraudulent declaration claiming that Shakes n Bakes was requesting these employees.

The woman, who was meant to testify against Portelli, did not show up to court, citing that she was indisposed. She was found guilty of contempt of court.

The court ordered Mario Xerri to assess her health condition to determine her ability to testify. The court instructed that a police officer accompany Xerri and ordered the police to make use of the body cam to record the circumstances the witness is found in.

Later in the day, the witness showed up to testify. Scerri said that the witness was completely fit to testify.

The witness said that the she had been summoned by officials at Identita and shown a copy of the declaration. In court, she admitted that the signature was forged.

She said she knew the accused through her ex-partner. Portelli would forge the declaration documents and she would submit the application. She would provide Portelli with empty forms and he would take care of finding employers who needed foreign workers.

She said this was all done in consultation with Portelli.

Christian Mansueto, the owner of restaurant Shakes n Bakes, testified on Tuesday that he was summoned by Identita and presented with a document stating that his company required 20 employees.

Mansueto denied ever requesting such a thing and told Identita to cancel the document.

He said that while he had briefly spoken to the accused since their sons frequented the same football club, he had no business relationship with him.

He stated that at the time, he operated two or three takeaway establishments, but he did not employ waiters or delivery personnel. He said he never saw the document in question before and that while the signature resembled his, it was not his own.

Under cross-examination by defense lawyer Jacob Grima, Mansueto said that he had never approached the temping agency and had no knowledge of it.

He explained that he typically hires employees through Facebook or word-of-mouth recruitment.

Towards the end of the sitting, the accused was granted bail against a €2,000 deposit and €5,000 guarantee.

The case will continue on 8 April.

The prosecution was led by Inspector Karl Roberts while the accused was represented by Kirsty Muscat and Jason Grima.