A drug addict used a dead man’s cheque book and posed as a ship chandler’s employee to defraud a number of companies.

Kenneth Camilleri, 31, of Qormi, was jailed for 18 months for the elaborate fraud, which was estimated to amount to some €25,000.

Police Inspector Jonathan Ferris told the court that Mr Camilleri hatched his plan when he came across a cheque book belonging to a man named Saviour Grima, who had died three years earlier.

Using the close similarity between the names, he pretended to be from the ship chandelling company Salvo Grima and Sons Limited.

His victims were led to believe he was the real deal and accepted the cheques in exchange for goods – from coffee to televisions.

Inspector Ferris said Mr Camilleri would select his victims at random from the Yellow Pages and phone companies to place the orders. In the proceedings, the value of the items taken by Mr Camilleri was put at €7,000.

Another man – car dealer Glen Borg, 37, from Tarxien – was charged in a separate case over his involvement and is currently undergoing proceedings.

Magistrate Carol Peralta heard how Mr Camilleri had already spent 10 months on remand in prison and took into consideration his drug problem.

The magistrate sent a recommendation to the prison authorities for him to start a drug rehabilitation programme and to be followed by a probation officer.