Christopher Malcolm Amos, from Green Lane, Shotton, admitted swindling customers of the online auction site out of thousands of pounds to fuel his gambling addiction.

Under the user name 'Whitefruit,' the 22-year-old accepted payments from 130 bidders wanting to buy laptop computers.

Some used eBay's PayPal facility, while others transferred the cash directly into Amos's bank account, but nobody ever received their orders.

Yesterday, Amos, who had no previous convictions, appeared at Wrexham Magistrates' Court charged with six counts of committing fraud by false representation. The court heard that he carried out the offences to fund his gambling problems and deliberately advertised the items on eBay with the intention of keeping the money.

It was said that he made more than £20,000 in the first instance.
He was ordered to pay back £2,060 to customers who transferred funds into his bank account, and £4,875 to PayPal.

District Judge Andrew Shaw said: "You never had such items to sell in the first place and in excess of 100 people were persuaded to part with their money.

"You contrived a fraudulent scheme to generate your gambling money and as a result, many people lost out."

Amos was given a 12-month suspended jail sentence.

He was also ordered to pay £60 costs, as well as the outstanding £6,935.