Repeat fraud offender jailed again for vehicle scam

May 6, 2026 11:09 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook

By Terence Malapa.

A 41-year-old woman from Erakor has been sentenced to 15.6 months’ imprisonment after admitting to deceiving a man out of VT98,000 in a fake vehicle purchase scheme.

In the Supreme Court case Public Prosecutor v Ulas [2026] VUSC 91, Justice Josaia Naigulevu sentenced Nerry Ulas on four counts of obtaining money by deception, contrary to section 130B of the Penal Code.

The court heard that between 22 November and 4 December 2021, Ulas convinced victim Ezekiel Maki to hand over money on four separate occasions after promising to buy him a Land Cruiser vehicle.

She reportedly told the complainant the money would be used to purchase the vehicle, cover shipping costs, and pay for a vehicle fitness sticker. Instead, the court found that Ulas used the money for her own personal purposes.

Ulas pleaded guilty to the charges on 7 October 2025 during her first court appearance, accepting the facts and being convicted on her pleas.

Justice Naigulevu said the offending was serious, noting that the amount involved was “fairly substantial,” represented money the complainant had worked hard to save for himself and his family, and involved planning.

The offence carries a maximum penalty of 12 years’ imprisonment.

In determining sentence, the court adopted a starting point of 20 months’ imprisonment, taking into account previous similar cases and the amount involved.

Because of her early guilty plea, Ulas received a 22 per cent reduction in sentence.

However, the court gave no further discount for personal mitigating factors due to her lengthy criminal history.

The court was told Ulas has previous convictions for similar offending. According to her pre-sentence report, this is her fourth set of convictions. She had previously been sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment in January 2021, nine months’ imprisonment in June 2022, and three years’ imprisonment in October 2023 — all for similar deception offences.

Justice Naigulevu noted that Ulas’ repeated offending showed a pattern of dishonesty and disregard for the law.

“The repetitive nature of her offending dictates that the suspension of her sentence is inappropriate,” the judge ruled.

The court also declined to suspend the sentence under section 57 of the Criminal Procedure Code, citing her poor character history and continued criminal behaviour.

Justice Naigulevu further noted that Ulas appeared not to have made genuine efforts to maintain a stable family life free from further offending.

Ulas, who is married with three children but reportedly separated from her husband, is now serving the full 15.6-month prison term immediately.

She has 14 days to appeal the sentence.