A fraudster who double-crossed two brothers and their sister out of nearly €1 million today was sentenced to two years and five months in jail. Joseph Scerri, 50, of Birkirkara convinced the siblings to believe he was investing their money in US property. He fabricated a letter from a person who was supposedly representing Empire State Buildings and told the victims he would investing in the Vatican Bank, oil companies in England and Dubai, and a tunnel between Malta and Sicily. Furthermore, Mr Scerri told the investors, that Empire State investments are spread all across the world. Paul and Joseph Schembri and their sister, Emanuela testifed that they had invested €558,000, €192,000 and €93,700, €65,000 and €70,000 for a total of €978,700. Testifying in court, Paul Schembri said that a third individual, Mario Gauci, had encouraged him to invest with Mr Scerri, saying that he had already invested with him. When questioned about the investment, Mr Scerri replied that the business went down the drain and he lost all the money.  After a year, Mr Schembri started asking around about Mr Scerri, and it was then he realized he shouldn’t have trusted him. The accused argued that it was Mr Schembri who approached him, adding that the latter wanted to create hidden investments and invest in a car business. In her considerations, Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit said that Mr Scerri's version was not credible.