A BUSINESSMAN has been jailed for a "cynical" internet fraud involving counterfeit mobile phones.

Ian Ernest Wood, 44, from Bishopthorpe, imported fake Apple and Samsung handsets from China which he sold on to customers as genuine through his website or arranged to be sent to them directly, said Stephanie Hancock, prosecuting.

Once, when a customer returned one of the pirated phones, he sold it on to another customer claiming it was genuine.

When he was arrested, he claimed to police he had £6,000 in a bank account he could use to recompense his customers, only to remove and spend money from the bank account before police could freeze it.

He has previous convictions for stealing from his employer and shop theft.

Jailing him for four months, Judge Peter Benson said: "This was a cynical piece of dishonesty."

Wood, of Ramsey Avenue, Bishopthorpe, pleaded guilty to 14 counts of fraud totalling £5,150 on the basis he initially thought the Chinese company was supplying genuine handsets but continued after he realised they were not.

He denied five more counts totalling £12,000 which the judge ordered to lie on file, meaning that they will appear on his record but are not convictions.

Ms Hancock said other victims not named in the charges declined to give statements to the police, and some of the victims had bought the phones as presents for children.

The fake phones had faults or couldn't connect to the mobile phone networks.

For Wood, Victoria Smith-Swaine said he was remorseful and did want to recompense his victims. Some had already been recompensed through the internet payment service Worldpay, so the loss was now to a company rather than to individuals.

The money he had withdrawn from the account which originally contained £6,000 had been to pay rent.

She handed in a letter from Wood apologising to his victims which he wanted to be passed on to his victims.

At the time of the offences, he had been suffering from depression and had decided to stop taking the medication he had been prescribed. That had affected his judgment.

He had been drinking and his relationship was under strain.

Since then he had got himself a job which was helping his mental health.