A MAN has been jailed after conning bidders on the eBay auction site out of thousands of pounds.
Jamie David Parker, 32, of Quantock Place, Peterlee, had been due to stand trial at the town’s magistrates’ court over the six charges of fraud by false representation.
But he changed his plea to guilty on a basis which was accepted by the prosecution.
Police say reports first came in about 12 months ago, when victims claimed they had been conned into transferring cash into the defendant’s bank account outside of the secure PayPal method of payment.
The total fraud came to £9,500, all relating to the advertised sale on eBay of car engines for about £1,500 each time.
No property was ever received by the victims and they have been left out of pocket as no money was ever returned.
There were six victims from around the country as far south as Essex and South Wales, plus Bedfordshire, West Yorkshire, Lancashire and Derbyshire.
The frauds happened between the start of October and end of November last year.
The court was told Parker had used the money for personal gain to pay for a £2,000 drugs debt.
A fast track probation report was received by the court and the court sentenced the defendant to 23 weeks custody for each offence - all six to run concurrently.
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