AN illiterate fraudster who conned internet shoppers out of almost £3,000 to pay back a loan shark has been handed a suspended jail sentence.

Jamie Lee Brewer, of Hazlemere Close, a 22-year-old who has numerous learning difficulties and the limited understanding of an eight-year-old, was also ordered to pay back £2,390.99 in compensation to his victims when he appeared in Swindon Magistrates Court yesterday, after admitting three counts of fraud by false representation and nine separate but similar allegations.

The offences involved false sales he made on online markets including eBay and Gumtree, where he had set up accounts in order to sell goods that he had no intention of delivering.

These included mobile phones, X-Boxes and Playstations and even rental of a caravan based in Devon.

Tony Novogrodski, defending, said Brewer had been on benefits at the time of the incident and had fallen into debt when the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) stopped his payments.

Unaware that he could appeal the DWP’s decision, Brewer instead chose to approach a loan shark, who gave him £1,500.

Mr Novogrodski said: “The problem with borrowing from a loan shark is that they’re not regulated by the law and the means by which they set about claiming back the money was by approaching Mr Brewer in the street and warning him of the rather unpleasant consequences that would be felt if he failed to pay back the loan.

“When speaking to a rather more sophisticated friend Brewer was told words to the effect that he could make some money by way of the internet.

“And we can see how naive the whole thing was because all the accounts were set up in Mr Brewer’s name by his friend, who pocketed some monies for providing that service, with his account number and his name, and it was not very difficult for the constabulary to track him down.”

Once arrested by the police, Brewer made a full and frank admission to the police and since then has secured work as a fork lift truck driver with his uncle.

Chairman of the bench, Mary Holland, said: “We have considered the seriousness of this event and feel that it’s serious enough to warrant a custodial sentence. This was over a sustained period of time and there was some sophistication in the manner by which it was carried out, and there have been previous convictions of a similar nature.

“So we have decided to impose a suspended sentence of four months for each of the three offences to run concurrently, but the prison sentence of four months will be suspended for 12 months.”

Brewer was also ordered to undergo regular supervision sessions with the Probation Service, participate in 19 sessions on the thinking skills accredited programme, visit the attendance centre every two weeks for a total of 36 hours and pay an additional £85 in court costs and £80 in victim surcharge.