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A PLUMBER who deceived a man into buying a fake Ford Falcon GT XY has been jailed for three months.
Shane John Hammond, 45, of Oatlands, was last month found guilty of dishonestly acquiring a financial advantage.
In 2007, Hammond sold a fake Ford Falcon GT XY for $85,000 and related items for $4500 to a man identified as Mr Griffin, knowing it was a rebodied vehicle.
In passing sentence on July 18, Justice Helen Wood said Hammond was aware the car was a rebodied vehicle when he bought it off a friend.
Justice Wood said Hammond offered to buy it as a V8 Falcon for $45,000, along with an unattached compliance plate from a genuine GT XY.
She said Hammond then sold it as a genuine Ford Falcon GT to Mr Griffin about two months later, grinding existing numbers off the top of the strut tower, then stamping the body and the engine block with numbers and letters to correspond with the unattached compliance plate.
``Mr Griffin took out a mortgage on his unencumbered home to finance the purchase and restoration work,'' Justice Wood said.
``After purchasing the car, Mr Griffin spent approximately $40,000 on restoration work. That would not have been an over-capitalisation if it had been a genuine GT XY Falcon.''
Justice Wood said about 2 1/2 years later, after the car had been brought to showroom condition, Mr Griffin tried to register it to discover the plate belonged to a stolen vehicle.
``The vehicle is in fact a 1970 XW Falcon. It cannot be registered in the future, the value of the vehicle in today's market in its immaculate restored condition is approximately $9000,'' she said.
``The deception has had a devastating effect on Mr Griffin. He has incurred interest on the loan in the amount of approximately $49,000 and the total amount he has lost attributable to this offence is $180,287.''
Justice Wood said Hammond had agreed to a compensation order of $171,287.55 and acknowledged the impact a jail term would take on his business.
She sentenced him to 12 months' imprisonment from June 25, suspended after three months.