Crooked second-hand car salesman stole £32,000 to fund 'lavish lifestyle'

A crooked second-hand car salesman stole tens of thousands of pounds from his boss to fund his "lavish lifestyle", a court has heard. Ceri Lewis was taken on at the garage even though he has stolen from previous employers because the owner regarded him as a good salesman and wanted to give him a chance.

Swansea Crown Court heard Lewis responded to being given a second chance by stealing more than £32,000 from the business by fiddling bank payment details. Sending 49-year-old Lewis to prison a judge described him as a "thoroughly dishonest man."

Ryan Bowen, prosecuting, said in January 2014 Lewis was given a job at Penybanc Car Centre in Ammanford by boss Richard Safardi. He said Mr Safardi had done business with Lewis in the past - Lewis had supplied scrap cars to another of Mr Safardi's businesses, Ammanford Recycling - and he knew about the defendant's previous convictions for theft by an employee but he regarded him as a good salesman and wanted to "give him a chance". The prosecutor said within a few months of starting the job Lewis was caught stealing some £400 from the garage but after "crying and begging for another chance" was allowed to stay on.

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The court heard that over time the business grew and the defendant was given increasing responsibilities including access to the garage's bank account in order to make payments. The prosecutor said Mr Safardi began to be contacted by creditors who complained they had not been paid but he put these down to errors and simply paid the outstanding amounts. However in June 2022 the car business was subject to a VAT review and during that process it emerged the firm's director, Catrin Safardi, had not been receiving her expected £1,000 a month salary. An examination of the garage's bank account showed Lewis had been secretly altering the details for the payments so the money went into his own account instead then deleting the changes to try to cover his tracks.

The court heard that when challenged by the Safardis the defendant admitted what he had done and apologised, saying: "It's not an excuse but I've been in a bad place." In total the defendant had stolen some £32,798.79 from the garage over a three year period. The prosecutor said Lewis had used the money to "support a lavish lifestyle." For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here

The court heard the defendant agreed to pay back the money he had syphoned off at the rate of £1,000 per month with his parents acting as guarantors. He paid back some £21,000 before being unable to continue the repayments at which point Mr Safardi contacted the parents and found the elderly couple knew nothing of their son's financial agreement. Mr Safardi then reported the matter to the police.

Ceri Lewis, of Quarry Road, Treboeth, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has one previous conviction for five offences from 2012 including two counts of theft by an employee and two of fraud by false representation. Kate Williams, for Lewis, accepted the offence involved a "breach of trust" but said it didn’t appear to have had a "significant financial effect" on the business. She said the defendant wishes to repay the full amount to Mr Safadi.

Judge Paul Thomas KC told Lewis he had "systematically and cynically" diverted money from the director of the business into his own account in a course of action that was calculated and persistent. He said what made the breach of trust "even more disgraceful" was the fact that Lewis' employer knew about his past convictions but had decided to give him a second chance. Addressing Lewis in the dock Judge Thomas said: "You are in short, Mr Lewis, a thoroughly dishonest man". With a one-third discount for his guilty plea Lewis was sentenced to 20 months in prison. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Dyfed-Powys Police does not have a custody photograph of the defendant.

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