A SERIAL fraudster who cheated a North Yorkshire used car dealer out of £15,000 has been given a suspended prison sentence at York Crown Court.

David Paterson, 57, claimed he would act as an intermediary so that the business owner could sell some of his vehicles through a Newcastle auction centre, said Brooke Morrison, prosecuting.

But when the car salesman took up the offer and placed four vehicles with the auctioneer, Paterson took the money generated by the sale of three of them and disappeared to the Isle of Wight.

The business owner told York Crown Court the scam had affected his cash flow and adversely affected his business at a crucial stage of its development.

He is also much more wary of people wanting to form a business relationship with him.

Paterson has more than a decade of fraud convictions and police have linked 10 different aliases to him, the court heard.

He claimed to a psychiatrist and through his barrister Danielle Graham that his dishonest behaviour, which started in 2008, was the result of post traumatic stress disorder after he had been kidnapped, held hostage for four weeks and crooks taking £250,000 from his bank account.

But the Recorder of York, Judge Sean Morris, wasn't prepared to accept the claims without evidence and adjourned the hearing.

After hearing the results of an investigation into Paterson’s claims, he suspended a 12-month prison sentence for 12 months on condition Paterson does 15 days’ rehabilitative activities and does 250 hours’ unpaid work. Paterson, whose latest address was in Poulton le Flyde, Lancashire, pleaded guilty to theft on the basis he had only stolen £15,000 and had originally not intended to steal the money.

Ms Morrison said Paterson approached the businessman in October 2017 over car sales and for a period their collaboration led to several car sales without problems.

But in January 2018 he made the auction centre proposal and the used car dealer allowed the auction house to collect four cars from him.

A fortnight later, Paterson told him three of the cars had been sold and the proceeds would be put in the used car dealer's account. No money arrived.

On February 16, Paterson told the businessman the money had been put in Paterson’s account “by error” and that he “would pay him later that day”, said Ms Morrison.

He never paid and all the businessman's subsequent attempts to contact him failed.

Police arrested Paterson in June on the Isle of Wight. The thief claimed the arrangement had been for the money to be handed over when all four cars had been sold.

Paterson’s fraud convictions began in 2008. He also has convictions for evading VAT payments, and has served several prison sentences.

The case was delayed for legal reasons before it could be brought before York Crown Court.