Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Fraudster pretends to be Everton footballer to take Mini Cooper

Fraudster pretends to be Everton footballer to take Mini Cooper

A man lied about being an Everton footballer as he conned a garage out of a £24,000 car, a court has heard.

Todd Baston pretended he was on loan with the Toffees from Aston Villa's Under-23s squad to test drive a Mini Cooper Sport and failed to return it.

He also used identification from a man he had met on a night out.

The 24-year-old, from Devon, admitted fraud by false representation at Liverpool Crown Court, where the judge said he had since "rehabilitated".

The court heard that Baston was described as "very confident and convincing to the degree that no suspicions about what he claimed were raised" when he visited the garage in Great Howard Street, Liverpool in October 2019.

Prosecutor Cheryl Mottram said: "The identification he had used belonged to another male who had met the defendant briefly on a night out [who] discovered shortly after that his bank card and driving licence were missing."

The business manager at the garage allowed Baston, from Exmouth, to test drive the car after the identification was checked with the driving licence authority.

'Chaotic lifestyle'


He was meant to return the car two days later but rang the garage and delayed the return and then did not answer phone calls.

The court heard Baston later told the garage he was on a train and thought his agent had returned the car and he tried to rearrange dropping the car off near a hotel but the car has still not been found.

In 2020 Baston told the police he had never visited the garage but later pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation. A charge of stealing the car, which he had denied, was dropped.

The garage said it had lost £13,539.

The court heard that Baston has previous offences including fraud and taking a car without consent, for which he received a two-year suspended sentence last May.

Lloyd Morgan, defending, said Baston "had quite a chaotic lifestyle, having had some difficulties as a child but he has managed to turn his life around".

"He has moved away from his peers who led him astray and he is in a settled relationship and contributes to the family and the community."

The judge, Recorder Simon Parrington, told Baston he was "within an ace" of going away.

"I am however persuaded that because of your conduct over the past year or so you have effectively rehabilitated and in those circumstances I can take a different course," he said.

Baston was given a two-year suspended sentence and was ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Budapest Central European Fashion Week Kicks Off
U.S. Celebrates Labor Day
Hungarian National Team Captain Scores Epic Goal
×