Leighton Daniel Perkins (26) appeared in the Invercargill District Court yesterday after pleading guilty to a raft of charges, eight of which were obtaining by deception.
The man was selling shipping containers online for up to $6500 each using a co-defendant’s bank account and fake addresses.
He did not have any shipping containers to sell and there is no record of what happened to the money.
Counsel Katarina Coote said the defendant had epilepsy and was offending with the mindset that he might not live to see the outcome.
She also said the man had not offended in 10 months since the charges were laid.
“He is committed to taking himself out of the criminal justice system,” she said.
Judge Kevin Phillips noted the man had not undertaken any rehabilitative programmes since the offending and no reparation had been paid to the victims.
“This man is a con-man, he has been conning people for years,” the judge said.
“He is not going to con me, and he will no longer have an ability to abuse the system as he has been.”
Perkins had 20 other dishonesty convictions and said he only pleaded guilty to get a discount on his sentence, the court heard.
Judge Phillips said the defendant showed no concern for the victims, even calling them “stupid”.
The judge said Perkins was “totally without any ability to tell the truth”.
The defendant also pleaded guilty to burglary, dangerous driving, aggravated disqualified driving and failing to stop.
Judge Phillips sentenced him to 26 months’ imprisonment and disqualified him from driving for 13 months.
FELICITY DEAR PIJF court reporter felicity.dear@odt.co.nz
