Eastbourne man given suspended prison sentence after faking medical letter for Blue Badge application

ESCC said Riccardo Gresta was given a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years, when he appeared at Hove Crown Court after pleading guilty to two counts of fraud at an earlier hearing.

A council spokesperson added: “The 45-year-old, from Elms Avenue, had submitted a letter from a neurologist to support his application to ESCC for a Blue Badge. But the council launched an investigation after they noticed obvious grammatical errors in the letter, which claimed that Gresta was unable to walk more than 20 metres. When contacted, the hospital involved confirmed the letter had not come from them.”

When interviewed by ESCC’s investigations officer, Gresta denied he had produced the letter and even made a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsmen, according to the council.

Sentencing on Thursday, December 22, recorder Mercer told Gresta: “It was not immediately obvious that the letter was a forgery, but the local authority are used to fraudulent claims and looked at it carefully.”

Recorder Mercer added that the custodial sentence should make it clear that people who commit Blue Badge fraud will go to prison, according to ESCC.

The council said: “This conviction is the result of the hard work and dedication of our Blue Badge team and should act as a deterrent to anyone thinking they can use false information or documents to get a Blue Badge. We will not tolerate any kind of fraudulent activity - if you genuinely need a Blue Badge and meet the nationally-set criteria, there is absolutely no need to lie.”

The spokesperson said the 12-month suspended sentence given to Gresta includes a six-week curfew requirement meaning he must be at home between the hours of 8pm-8am. No order for costs was made, ESCC said.