A FRAUDSTER has been jailed for two years and three months after pleading guilty to a string of frauds including skipping hotel bills, selling fake Rolex watches and using cloned credit cards.

Layton Spinks, aged 33, appeared in Cardiff Crown Court to be sentenced for a range of offences dating back to 2013 across Cardiff and Gwent.

The earliest offence, outlined by prosecutor Mike Hammett, involved buying sunbeds for a Cardiff business with a deposit of £6,000.

After the business shut down, Spinks attempted to sell them privately without settling an outstanding bill with the sunbed company he bought them from.

The court heard that in March 2015, Spinks committed a ‘bilking’ offence at the Celtic Manor Hotel, Newport, after checking into the resort with vouchers valued at around £400, running up a bill of £950 and leaving the hotel without paying. He was also caught using a cloned credit card at the Vale Hotel, Glamorgan, the same month.

Spinks also sold fake Rolex watches in 2016 on two separate occasions, using fake names and deception to pass off forgeries to customers.This included Spinks buying a genuine Rolex Submariner watch and allowing the customer to listen to a auctioneer’s valuation via speakerphone to reassure the customer it was real before selling it at Newport Train Station.

Spinks also used a cloned credit card to buy a barbecue from the Caerphilly Garden Centre in May 2016 and was caught by police driving a stolen Range Rover worth £31,000 in 2015.

The prosecution estimated the value of the frauds— not including the bilking offences — at around £38,000.

Spinks, of Milverton Road, Cardiff, had 20 previous convictions ranging from failing to pay for petrol and perverting the course of justice to using stolen credit cards and false currency.

Christopher Rees, defending Spinks, described the bilking offences as “relatively minor” and argued that Spinks, who was also charged with handling stolen goods, said he didn’t know he was handling a stolen vehicle with a false plate when stopped by police. He added a jail term would have a “significant effect” on Spink’s family

“There was no evidence that he was doing anything with the vehicle,” he said.

Judge Eleri Rees QC imposed a term of two years and three months imprisonment on Wednesday. Spinks will serve half of this term before being released on licence.