A “THOROUGHLY dishonest” car salesman who syphoned off tens of thousands of pounds from his employers to “support a lavish lifestyle” has returned to court.

Swansea Crown Court heard that convicted fraudster Ceri Lewis was hired as a car salesman at Penybanc Car Sales in Ammanford in 2014.

The defendant was given more responsibilities, but in June 2022 a VAT review flagged up an issue which revealed that Lewis had syphoned off £32,798.79 since June 2019.

Lewis repaid £21,000, but when he was unable to keep paying the money back, the owner of the garage went to the police.

The defendant was jailed for 20 months after admitting fraud by false representation.

Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) proceedings were launched to recover any profits Lewis had made from his offending.

At a hearing, it was agreed that Lewis, now 50, had benefitted by £38,104.10 from his offending, and a confiscation order was made in the sum of £1. He must also pay a £140 surcharge after he is released.

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The court had previously heard that the business’ owner, Richard Safadi, initially hired Lewis – who had been convicted in 2012 of fraud offences – as he was “considered to be a good salesperson” and “had changed his ways”, prosecutor Ryan Bowen had told the court.

Shortly after being hired, Lewis stole between £300 and £400 from the business. When Mr Safadi challenged him, Lewis “cried and begged” and told his boss he would pay the money back, and was given another chance.

Over time, Lewis was entrusted to carry out banking transactions using the business account. However, Mr Safadi began receiving calls from creditors saying they hadn’t been paid.

He initially paid the money, believing it to have been an error, but a VAT review in June 2022 revealed Lewis’ offending.

An accountant found Mrs Safadi – a director at the company – hadn’t been paid “for a number of months”. Lewis had edited the payment to send it to his own account, but had kept the reference the same and had removed his own details from the business’ recent payees.

Mr Safadi confronted Lewis, who admitted taking the money and promised to repay it. The court heard Lewis had agreed to pay the money back at £1,000 per month, and had said his parents would be guarantors.

Lewis had repaid £21,000. When he was unable to keep paying the money back, Mr Safadi went to see the defendant’s parents, who did not know anything about what had happened. As a result, Mr Safadi went to the police.

Mr Bowen said Lewis, of Quarry Road in the Treboeth area of Swansea, had used the money to “support a lavish lifestyle”.

Sentencing Lewis, Judge Paul Thomas KC said: “In breach of the significant trust placed in you by your employers, you systematically and cynically diverted money which should have gone to a director in to your own account.

“This wasn’t a spur of the moment offence. It was calculated, it was persistent, and it was thoroughly dishonest.”

Judge Thomas said that the offending was made “even more disgraceful” due to the fact that Lewis being hired despite his boss knowing about his previous conviction.

“You are, in short, a thoroughly dishonest man,” he said.