A CARMARTHEN man who duped someone into buying £90 of non-existent Bitcoin – and charged extra for postage and packing – has been jailed for fraud.
Appearing from custody at Llanelli Law Courts on Thursday (Apr 12), 25-year-old Joshua Denton pleaded guilty to one charge of fraud by false representation. Denton, of Belvedere Avenue, also admitted breaching a community order imposed last year for stealing his mother’s debit card.
Prosecuting, Sian Vaughan explained that the complainant saw an ad on social media advertising Bitcoin for sale, and attempted to purchase £90 worth for his brother. In addition, he was charged £6 postage and packing for the digital currency.
When this was not forthcoming, he contacted the police, and Denton was arrested.
Mitigating, Laura Sherwood explained that Denton had not actually spent any money from the debit card he stole last year, but had taken it following a row about money.
She added that Denton, who breached his community order by failing to attend supervised sessions, had said that he was unwilling to continue with the order.
“It is not my usual position to recommend a custodial sentence, but that is what he has asked,” she remarked.
The Chair of the Bench asked whether Denton was aware that even if he chose to go to prison he would still have to engage with the probation service on release, and was told that he was.
Magistrates revoked Denton’s community order and sentenced him to two months imprisonment.
He was sentenced to an additional two months for the fraud, with both sentences to run consecutively, and ordered to pay £96 compensation and a £115 victim surcharge.
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