A MAN sentenced to jail for an eBay fraud that cost a South Australian couple nearly $20,000 has been ordered to pay them compensation.Damon Peter Cavalieri, 34, pleaded guilty in Bendigo Magistrates Court yesterday to a charge of obtaining financial advantage by deception.He set up a false eBay user name, the court was told, and allowed his victims to transfer $18,000 for a Mercedes-Benz vehicle he never intended to deliver.Cavalieri, of Gisborne, was sentenced to one month in jail, but released with his sentence wholly suspended for two years.Prosecutor Sergeant Brett Sheppard said that on February 8 last year, Cavalieri created a username on eBay.Cavalieri used an alias as the username, he said, and listed a false address and false date of birth.Six days later, he listed a 1996 silver Mercedes-Benz, but after a number of unsuccessful bids, the auction closed without a sale.An unsuccessful South Australian bidder contacted Cavalieri by email, and after several contacts it was agreed Cavalieri would sell the bidder the car for $18,000.Sergeant Sheppard said the victim obtained bank details, and on February 27, transferred the money to Cavalieri.During the following weeks, seller and buyer engaged in communication several times, with the buyer asking why the car had not been delivered.Sergeant Sheppard said that at one point, the victim’s wife demanded either the car, or a return of the $18,000.The court was told the victim had received $8600 in various sporadic payments from Cavalieri, who told his victim he was struggling to repay due to work commitments.At other times, he said he had lost the bank account details.On June 6, more than three months after the car was first sold, detectives questioned Cavalieri, who admitted having spent the victim’s money.Sergeant Sheppard requested Cavalieri be ordered to repay $9400 in compensation to his victims.Defence barrister John Pilkington said Cavaliere believed he had already paid more than the $8600 alleged, but admitted he had no bank records to prove the claim.He acknowledged Cavalieri had only recently faced similar charges.The court was told Cavalieri was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for three years, in the Melton County Court just three weeks ago after being found guilty of seven deception-related charges totalling nearly $130,000.Magistrate Tim McDonald ordered Cavalieri to serve one month in jail, again wholly suspended for two years.He was also ordered to repay the $9400 at a rate of $100 a week.