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Man who impersonated a monk jailed

Downpatrick Court - Sentences man to 14 months in jail
Downpatrick Court - Sentences man to 14 months in jail

A man who pretended to be a monk and defrauded a monastery in Co Antrim has been sentenced to 14 months in prison.

Francesco Ferro, 27, pleaded guilty to nine counts of fraud and several other charges.

A court in Downpatrick heard he spent more than £2,000 on the monastery's credit card.

He used the credit card to buy first class plane tickets and stay in a five-star hotel.

A judge told Ferro he had exploited the goodwill of members of the religious order in Portglenone.

The man was arrested in July last year after police called to investigate a £500 theft from a room in the monastery which matched his fingerprint to a broken window.