An investment scammer has been given three months to pay back thousands of pounds he conned out of a vulnerable man or face a stiff prison sentence.
Michael Kavanagh told Judge David Rennie that he had spent all the money he scammed from victim Paul Hibbett when he was out of work with an ankle injury before Christmas.
But he said two big jobs were due to be paid in April, and pleaded for more time to repay some of his ill gotten gains.
Kavanagh, 38, ran the scam, which involved getting Mr Hibbett to make regular payments, from January 2020 to February 2022 in Hove.
In that time, Mr Hibbett paid him £14,330. By the time he was charged, Kavanagh had repaid £360 – leaving an outstanding sum of almost £13,961.
At Hove Crown Court today, Judge Rennie said: “At the last hearing, I was told a significant amount of money would have been paid as a way of paying compensation.
“What we have had since then is a whole lot of explanations and excuses – and nothing.
“The latest is, ‘It’s all very difficult and there will be real problems and I would like until April.'”
Defending, Sarah Thorne said Kavanagh had told her he had been trying the solicitor he had been trying to contact to arrange paying the money back had sadly passed away. When he eventually got another email address for a police officer, he hadn’t received a response.
She said she had seen confirmation on his NHS app of the ankle injury which had prevented him working. She said by April he should be in a position to repay about £8,000.
She said: “He knows how it looks. He had to use the money he had saved to pay for his living expenses and his family until he was able to work again.
“He’s got himself into a vicious circle.”
Judge Rennie said he should come back on 10 April for sentencing. He said: “I’ll see how much money he’s got available or paid into the complainant’s account.
“If I’m impressed then I could make a compensation order.
“If I’m unimpressed I’m likely to send him straight to prison.
“It’s not buying his way out of prison, it’s just showing he’s really sorry and trying to repair some of the damage he’s caused.
“The person he chose to rip off needs to be shown more respect.”
