A CROOKED car salesman was jailed on Thursday, June 7, for pocketing a £2,800 deposit paid to him for a Mercedes.

Adam Georgiou, 27, from Hoddesdon, was sentenced to four months in jail for three counts of theft.

Georgiou was found guilty of stealing two separate sums, of £1,800 and £1,000, paid by Mr Amit Kotecha as a deposit for a C-Class Mercedes. The other offence related to a stolen tax disc.

At the time, Georgiou was working for the JR Tagger Mercedes dealership in Pinner Road, Bushey.

The judge at Blackfriars Crown Court, Mr Nicholas Jones, said: "This is a breach of trust case. Effectively you were stealing money that belonged to your employers, and it is not possible to avoid a custodial sentence in this case."

In sentencing, credit was given to Georgiou for paying back the money to Mr Kotecha, and his previous good character.

Georgiou had been cleared last month of three charges alleging that he conned Park Royal businessman Mr Lucky Anand out of £22,000. This had been put up as deposit for a £170,000 Mercedes SLR Special Edition.

However, the jury rejected Mr Anand's testimony, and cleared Georgiou of three counts of obtaining property by deception.